Illegal immigrants, by nature, miss the naturalization process, and thereby miss a perfect opportunity to learn about what makes this country so great.

Does anyone else see the absurdity in the phrase ‘immigrant rights?’ Over the last few weeks, as many Americans like me were stunned by the massive marches of immigrants that took place in several US cities and the concerted effort to paralyze the system with the boycott May 1, the phrase has been all over the news. But no one has ever really challenged it.

Journalists report the message of the immigrants (who are mostly Mexican and mostly illegal): immigrants do a large amount of work in America, helping to sustain the economy and better our standard of living, and so they deserve to get the benefits that all other Americans get (e.g., education, drivers licenses, Medicare, Social Security).

This makes sense on the surface. If you’re working, living, earning, and buying like every other American is, then you should get the benefits every other American receives. If you buy a ticket, you should be able to watch the ball game. But don’t expect to hear Shakira singing the Nuestro Himno before the first pitch. There is a lot more to being American than putting in some hard work, and those other qualifications, which may be less visible, are still as important or more so. If all the illegal immigrants met those qualifications, I am confident that everyone in America would welcome the foreigners. The problem, of course, is that from what I’ve seen, most illegals and especially the vocal ones don’t meet those other qualifications.

A love of America and devotion to it would have to rank around the top of those qualifications and it is clear that illegals do not love America. They march, not with American flags flying, but with Mexican flags. Some even go so far as to fly the American flag upside down underneath the Mexican flag. This kind of disgrace has no place in America and we should certainly not reward it by giving its participants free tuition to our universities.

A love of America includes a love of its rules, traditions, and customs. That means immigrants should want to follow its immigration and naturalization policies as well as learn the history and learn the language that it has used to become so desirous a place to live and work. It is agreed that these things take a lot of time and work, which might not be available for the struggling foreigner. But it should be something that he at least desires to do.

The story of America is a fascinating one and should be enjoyable to anyone who believes in the principles that make America what it is. The English language, moreover, is the most powerful tool for communication that man has ever created, and that is something that all people should want to take part in. The immigrant should want to assimilate into the culture because that is what America is all about. If he doesn’t, the immigrant’s stay here is just an opportunistic way to raise some dough for the homeland.

That is the vibe the average American gets from all this—immigrants are demanding things from us true Americans that they simply don’t deserve. As prominent actor, Edward J. Olmos has said, the marches and boycotts will “teach a lesson to the politicians and the rest of the United States,” as if we are bad school kids that need to be reprimanded, as if we don’t get to decide what we do with our allowance.

Illegal immigrants, by nature, miss the naturalization process, and thereby miss a perfect opportunity to learn about what makes this country so great. I don’t doubt that if naturalization was improved and given to everyone in this country, the results would include a better appreciation for America and its rules, for immigrants and natives. But if someone has already gotten here illegally, the chances are less likely that he will take naturalization seriously anyway. He knows what America is and it has nothing to do with culture or traditions.

The immigration crisis, if it can be called a crisis, is not all negative. Indeed, it can actually be seen as an opportunity for Americans of all backgrounds. That is because when a movement that is so enormous and potentially harmful to our culture threatens us, we must at least take a good, long look at what our culture is and determine whether it is something worth saving. When a people’s integrity is questioned, we must look inside to realize the answer.

Performing this soul searching, we will find that surprisingly few of us legal Americans really know what America is. There are even a good number of Americans, whether they know what the country stands for or not, that oppose it. They will demean America subconsciously by acting disrespectfully or speaking socialistically, or they will do so directly by undermining the authorities or burning the flag for instance.

This native discontent, not the non-American or un-American movements abroad, is the true threat here. It is what makes the illegal immigrants’ demands seem reasonable; it is what makes the terrorist threats tolerable. We can fight off any challenge if we are sure of our own rightness but cannot defend from the slightest test if we doubt ourselves. This self-defeatism was what in the 5th century allowed the barbarians to sack Rome, which would not have fallen if it only had the support of its own people.

But, as it was with Rome, do not the discontents have a point? Rome’s people were right to fall prey to the barbarians because their great city-state was no longer just or moral. It had become rotten and there was no good reason to fight for it any more. Shouldn’t we doubt our rightness given our own injustices and immorality?

While it cannot be denied that as a nation we have some serious problems, one cannot refute that we have some serious virtues either. As with late Rome, our virtues lie primarily in the movements and organizations dedicated to sustaining and reviving the principles of early America. That is to say, the conservative movements in America comprise most of what is good about the country. To let go of our country would be to abandon these right movements and that would be unacceptable.

Americans involved in the conservative movements understand what the founding fathers knew about freedom and responsibility—that in order to grant a people freedom, they must also have responsibility as well. Without responsibility, the freedom is useless and often harmful. Since the founding, we Americans have consistently attempted to forget this truth and as a result built a ginormous welfare state whose only aim is to reduce the responsibility of its citizens.

Freedom without responsibility is alluring because it means a good life without effort. It is no wonder, then, why immigrants want to take advantage of this ‘American way.’ But that mentality is exactly what is wrong with America these days. Health care, Social Security, benefits, regulations, everything is aimed at reducing responsibility while freedom keeps on skyrocketing. No one should get it, especially the illegal immigrants, but not even the most legal of Americans.

For many, burning the flag is a symbol of freedom and the ability for a citizen to speak his mind without governmental interference. Freedom of speech, it goes without saying, is a cherished possession of the American citizen. But the organization that allows this is called America and is represented by the US flag. Burning it is to burn the so cherished freedom and to contradict the protestor’s statement. The flag burner should actually hope to be arrested because of his action, since his support for governmental interference is clearly made.

The point is this: we see Palestinians and Iranians burning the US flag and consider it un-American; so too should we consider US flag burning by American nationals un-American. The fact that we question whether free speech should allow for it means that we have lost sight of what our country really is.

Confronting the immigration problem is really about confronting our own deficiencies. When we see the infiltration of non-American forces into our country, we can look at it in a couple ways. The first is to agree that they deserve to be here and that we really have nothing to protect. Alternatively, we can resist their intrusion and seek to reinforce our integrity. The former is easier and compassionate and will certainly lead to a more diverse population. The latter is difficult and requires us to take on some serious responsibility. But that responsibility, considered necessary in the 1770s, is the only thing that can sustain an ideal like America.