We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Americans can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. President Trump, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the United States and North America, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Trump, open this gate. … Mr. Trump, tear down this wall! — with apologies to Ronald Reagan

The essence of democracy is that every person has the inalienable right to exist and freedom of action. Democracy is not about finding the easy solution to challenges of security, ideology,  and co-habitation, but finding sustainable, long-term, solutions that benefit the greatest number of stakeholders while minimizing the negative impact of those solutions on the fewest.

Democracy is about inclusion, not segregation. It is about tearing down walls, not building them.

Democracy is about having the tough conversations which involve ration, passion, fears, and tears precisely because the wicked problems we face today are not easy.

Taking the easy way out is a clear sign that the root problems are not understood. That the cultural, political, and economic catalysts driving undesirable behavior on the parts of others are a representation of the consequences of the choices of our democratic processes not working to their greatest affect.

Easy solutions to these types of complex problems never result in the desired impact long-term. Rather they exacerbate the situation by not addressing the issues driving such behavior in the first place. They force those who are disenfranchised to find more creative ways of circumventing barriers put in place to keep them from changing their personal circumstances to exist and be free.

Every wall that has ever been built has been torn down, or been made obsolete, as societies come to grips with the fact that a wall really doesn’t solve anything – it simply moves the problem somewhere else.

If America wants security on it’s southern boarder, it needs to address the root problems that  have resulted in the migration of hundreds of thousands of people to American borders annually. Those issues include economic opportunity and security outside US boarders. Similar to how arbitrage is a major factor in driving economic opportunity, so long as there exists radical differences between regions over the right to exist and freedom of action, there will never be sustainable security no matter how many walls are built.

— Kevin Feenan