Foreign Exchange Citizens?

I’m sure most everyone that grew up in “The West” is familiar with the Foreign Exchange Student program.  I’m not sure if that is still a thing, but I was certainly very familiar with it coming up through the 70s and 80s.  My high school in particular had a good number of Exchange Students – primarily from Germany and Australia as I recall.  In fact, my wife had one living with her for a year of High School, which I had completely forgotten about until I started writing this…

Anyhow, I’ve been seeing a lot of news stories and YouTube videos lately about Foreigners  who’ve traveled to the US for the World Cup matches absolutely raving about how wonderful the US is, and several stating either they don’t want to go back home or they can’t wait to come back to the US, and that got me thinking…

I know, dangerous, right?!?

We (The West) should implement a Foreign Exchange program for citizens! 

Think about it – we (US citizens) could welcome in/sponsor a foreign citizen as our guest, for a pre-determined amount of time, and let them test the waters and see how they like it.  In return, we send one of our dissatisfied citizens off to a country they’re convinced is better than the US, and let them see how they like it.  I hear Venezuela is nice this time of year…

After the pre-determined time, the visitor goes back home OR they decide they want to stay and get a fast track to a green card and eventually citizenship.  With a positive referral from their Host, of course.  The dissatisfied can stay in their new found Utopia, or they come to the conclusion that the US isn’t the racist fascist oligarchy dictatorship where white supremacists run rampant over everyone and everything in their greedy bloodlust…and come home with a new found appreciation for what we have here.  The bottom line is, we NEED more people here that appreciate what we are blessed with. 

If anything, I would think the whole “open borders, no person is illegal” contingent would welcome such a program. 

Sponsorship would help with vetting, decrease dependency on welfare and NGO participation, lead to a quicker assimilation and reduce the number of “randoms” that show up uninvited.  And the Hosts would have some skin in the game, so to speak.  If you want foreign born people here, you should be willing to shoulder a bit of the weight, not just shout slogans and demand everybody chip in for what you want.

Obviously, there are a zillion details that would need to be worked out, but I think it could be a better way of doing things than the way they are done now.

Don’t get me wrong, I know such a thing is an absolute pipe dream and would never actually come to fruition.  I just got to thinking about all these folks that have traveled here over the last month, seeing our wonderful country for the first time, and being astounded by what they’ve witnessed.  It’s a refreshing change from the scoundrels that make their way here by hook and by crook, then spend the rest of their lives telling us how terrible we are and how we need to assimilate to their culture(s) rather than the other way around.

Look, I know the US is FAR from perfect.  The lunatics have been running the asylum for way too long. (ESPECIALLY in my home state of California!!). Nevertheless, the US is an amazing place, full of untold possibilities, despite our current state of affairs and our so-called “problematic” history.  I have loathed my government for decades, but I love my country and my countrymen.  And I appreciate all those folks putting themselves out there, sharing their fantastic experiences while traveling throughout our country for the first time.  It’s a nice reminder for us.  We are fortunate to be here.  I for one am eternally grateful to be an American, and I welcome those with a true American spirit, wherever they come from. 

Well, that’s enough blathering for today.  Sometimes I just gotta get these weird thoughts outta my head.

Thanks for stopping by!