Digi-Scene

On a lark yesterday, my friend Patrick and I decided that it was important that we stand in the most southwest corner of the USA and get our picture taken. Obviously this means that we were standing on the beach with the ocean lapping at our feet inches in front of the hideous border fence between California and Mexico. The United States side of the fence was completely deserted except for a few curious folks like ourselves and about half a dozen border patrol agents. This area was supposed to be a park, but the grass around the picnic tables was all dead and there were floodlights and cameras everywhere. It reminded me of that old WWII movie Stalag 17. Unfortunatley, our side is the side that looked like the prison. I could see through the fence into Mexico and see many shops, a pleasant park and a bullfighting arena within feet of the border line. While I looked longingly through the fence at the delicious restaurants and nice hotels in Tiajuana, I saw many faces looking back at me with equal longing at the vast expanse of nothingness I was standing on.

I felt a sadness in me as I looked at these people, milling around the fence, obviously waiting for the few hours until sunset when they would make their attempt at crossing the border. As I talked to Patrick about the recent protest groups here in San Diego that are doing their own border patrols, the anger Patrick displayed about our policies on illegal immigration began to bubble in me too.

You know what I thought of? I thought of President Reagan years ago in Berlin saying "Mr. Gorbachev, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL". In my heart I was saying the same thing. Somehow I doubt President Bush hears us, though...