> I learned that sometimes when a situation is very complicated the best way to gather enough information about it is to get your hands dirty and go out into the real world and make observations. Yesterday I was talking to a work associate of mine and we were debating politics and the topic of immigration came up. He was talking about how it's the norm for "Illegals" to come here and get put in a house with 50 other people where they are treated inhumanely and held ransom until their families can come up with $10,000 to procure their release. I am fortunate enough to have several friends that are not documented American citizens and can attest from personal experience that this is not the norm. I know bad things happen but I have plenty of friends who came here by way of kyotes, paid their fee and were fine. Point is that media is extremely biased and the best way to get a grip on the situation is to make some friends in south Phoenix and ask them what really goes on. You'll find that plenty of "Kyotes" who are vilified in the media are actually decent people that are just trying to get paid for providing a service in the black market because they aren't allowed to work legally. Some do it better than others but the fact is that people talk and they have a reputation to maintain. If it's the norm that they treat people poorly their business would suffer because there are others who don't and people within those communities know who can be trusted and who can't.
> I gained a lot of respect for the poor. It was really neat to read a book that talked about some of the amazing things that poor people in other countries have accomplished. He documents instances where shantytowns organized so well that property values were actually higher in the extralegal section of town than in the mainstream neighborhoods where people actually had legal title for the properties that they inhabit. There was even a case where the elected president was living in a home in which he did not have legal title because that was where the best living conditions were.
> I learned to focus on solutions rather than punishments. Administering justice is beneficial when it is based on reality but when it is not feasible the longer justice is pursued the more society will suffer on both ends because the fight over justice will become a greater problem than what it is attempting to resolve.
> Another thing that was interesting to me was how often societies had run into the same problems over and over again. It really drove home the saying that history repeats itself and it made me wish that people could look at history for guidance to a peaceful solution and avoid solutions that led to violence, bloody revolutions and oppression.
This book was one of the best books I've ever read. I would recommend that everyone take the time to read it.
I like your reflections on this, Dave.
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