In case no one noticed, the US Government has a virus. For lack of a better name for it, I’m calling it the Nimby Virus. Nimby is an acronym for not-in-my-back-yard, and usually refers to attempts by local people and/or their politicians to prevent the construction of unsavory structures in their vicinity. Think waste disposal areas and prisons.
But, there’s another kind of Nimby. It occurs when one entity encroaches on what the other believes is its own territory. Think gangs, hierarchy and, in this case, a state passing laws that threaten national sovereignty. This post is about the law recently passed in Arizona to deal with its problem of illegal aliens. The US Government has filed suit against them on the grounds that it has jurisdiction over this issue.
- Image via Wikipedia
The suit seeks to prevent the new law from taking effect at the end of July and makes it a state crime for an alien to be in the US illegally. It empowers state law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of suspects.
I suppose that the wording of the law is a bit unfortunate. Had it just made it a crime to be in Arizona illegally, I don’t think there would have been a case to answer. But, extending it to anywhere in the US does step on at least 49 other toes.
The reasons that this story made this blog, however, is because of the general attitude of the US Government. They know there’s a problem, and some day, but not anytime soon, they might get around to actually doing something about it. But, woe to those who take the law into their own hands, even if they are state legislators.
I think it was Ronald Reagan who famously said that you can get a lot done if you don’t care who gets the credit. It’s about time that the federal government cured itself of the Nimby Virus.
Bruce Hoag, PhD, CPsychol
Work Psychologist
