Most Americans today want strong national borders. Many want to build a wall around the country. But the reality of today’s economy is that walls are difficult to design, hard to build, and require a kind of selective blindness.
Permeable membranes are what people really want. Let in bananas from Central America, blueberries from Chile( in season), coffee from Kenya. But keep out the damn Central Americans, Chileans, and Kenyans. Presumably deliver things in sealed containers handled by robots.
And of course there are other semi-permeable goods and services, like clothing, obtained much more cheaply elsewhere but a “threat to domestic producers.” So slap on a tariff. But then, maybe, the bananas will cost too much.
And tourism? Oh no, we may want to visit them. They cannot come here. Well – maybe – if they go through the right procedures. With money. And on and on with increasing complexity.
Mostly people who want such barriers claim they desire to save our ancient and established culture and way of life. Newcomers must be carefully and slowly allowed in. Of course the original peoples _ and their cultures even more ancient _ oh, never mind.
Eventually, even the most obstinate may recognize they inhabit one Earth, artificial barriers or no. And they will need a much higher IQ than they currently exhibit to work that out to their satisfaction.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 