| ‘Gods And Generals’ Filmmaker Takes on Illegal Immigration | Posted 2007-09-17 |
Ron Maxwell’s documentary grew out of his growing awareness of the immigration problem as he traveled back and forth from New York City, where he grew up, to Los Angeles.
He was raised in an ethnic neighborhood in New Jersey in the 1950s that included Italians, Polish and German immigrants.
Assimilation into the culture was important to them, he said. “There was no inkling of separatism. There was no inkling of anti-Americanism,” he said.
But that is not the same feeling, he says, among immigrants today,
“One way or another, either by out right annexation, which could happen in 20 to 30 years from now, or through demographic change, they see it as a re-conquering,” Maxwell said of some Mexican politicians and intellectuals.
Triple Threat
A central part of the problem, Maxwell said, are “post patriotic non-citizens” running large corporations that put financial interests above those of the country.
The corporate leaders are in an alliance with politicians and opinion leaders in the Hispanic community, he said.
“They are taking America to the New World order, which will have no borders,” Maxwell said.
Because of this coalition, politicians are disconnected to the desires of the country’s citizens, Maxwell said.
“They are not elected,” he said, “to be representatives of the billions of people in the world that want to come here.”
Stern Measures
Maxwell favors cracking down on illegal immigration by enforcing current laws.
He favors stiff penalties for large businesses that hire illegal immigrants.
Maxwell supports no amnesty for illegal immigrants. He wants to make sure that those here illegally have no chance of gaining U.S. citizenship.
He also supports building a wall to protect the international borders.
Walls along highways for noise abatements are built but none are constructed for national security, Maxwell pointed out.
“It’s a complete collapse of will,” he said. “It’s worse than that: It’s a betrayal of the American people.”
Citizen Action
As grim a picture Maxwell paints on immigration, the filmmaker believes it is not too late for Americans to do something to curb the tide.
Every election, even those at the local level, are important, he said.
“This is now about reclaiming our sovereignty,” he said. “It’s going to happen at the grassroots.”
If politicians do not listen to voters, Maxwell said an alternative is for people to stop paying taxes.
“The American people are funding their own suicide. If we stop paying taxes, this craziness stops,” he said.
Contact Jeff Mellott at 574-6290 or jmellott@dnronline.com
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