It's not just Arizona, my friends.

What if I told you there are elected officials in Tennessee who react to hearing people speaking Spanish by thinking they're probably an illegal immigrant?




Springfield, TN City Council Alderman Ken Cherry wants to ban all Hispanics from Springfield's parks because "If they're speaking Spanish, I tend to think they are illegal." That's far from his most extreme position, though.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, political staffer, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

"We don't want the government to do anything."

That's the mindset of some folks, despite the fact the U.S. Constitution actually calls for government to manage things such as defense, domestic tranquility, etc. In a way, it's interesting - it's utopian:

I don't need anybody regulating the food I buy, I don't need anybody checking the efficacy of the drugs I use, I'm never going to need a fire-fighter or a policeman, I don't need roads and bridges maintained by some big agency, no not me, I'm fine with private "free market" solutions to everything, including education, defense, and immigration.

Call it a little naive, maybe, but... the sound bites seem appealing until you ponder little things such as: who deals with pollution in the streams you fish in, or how a family living in a hut copes with forest fires, hurricanes, or immigration (at least there'd be no more illegal immigrants.)

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