Should We Have Borders?

Borders define geographic boundaries all over the world, attempting to separate various cultures and quell conflict between different governments or political entities. Although the purpose of borders is to secure the safety and privacy of the people living within them, at times they can exacerbate conflict. For example, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an ongoing border dispute between Israelis and the Palestinians, where each group believes the same pieces of land are theirs. The conflicts that come about due to the existence of borders are serious and fairly common all over the world. Also with the growing transportation advancements, the invisible lines that we call borders are becoming less important and even fairly nonexistent. A businessman may live in the United States but work on a daily basis in Western Europe with ease. Lastly, borders contribute to immigration problems and make it difficult for foreigners to live the life they dream of living. I feel that the reasoning behind having borders should be reexamined because of the conflict it causes to neighboring nations, the lack of necessity due to advanced transportation, and the restrictions it sets on hopeful immigrants.

I believe that the benefits of having borders do not compensate for the endless amount of conflict that they have caused throughout history and will cause in the future between neighboring nations. Border conflicts have been taking place for centuries around the globe, ranging from the Poland and Czechoslovakia conflict that began in 1918 to the more recent United States and Mexico conflict that continues to cause great debate. Borders tend to be the cause of war because people of all cultures and beliefs wish to be the biggest and the best in relation to other surrounding countries. I feel that if everyone shared one large land the world would be more peaceful and less divided. For example, prior to the creation of borders in the United States, the Native American Indians lived in greater harmony with nearby tribes than most countries do today because nobody had claim to earthly resources.

In addition, borders are becoming less of an obstacle to cross due to the fairly recent advancement of transportation speed. Trains, planes, and cars move faster than ever and will most likely continue to grow faster year after year. For instance, on a vacation to Europe, I visited both Paris and Glasgow within the same day. I crossed borders with ease due to the speed and availability of airplanes. I also feel that borders cause burdens on people who wish to travel. I have a sister who attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The border separating the United States and Canada causes time issues for my family and I when traveling to Canada for a visit. I felt the physical barrier between countries, waiting in that long line, the land looking the same on either side of the border patrol kiosks.

            Most importantly, borders cause hardships for hopeful immigrants. The illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States continue to face importation and poverty. It is unfair to deny someone a chance to live an improved lifestyle in a new land. It is extremely wrong to refuse thousands of Mexicans, that are currently living in our country, the right to live in the United States when they just hope to work hard enough to feed and support themselves and their families. Although I respect the opinions of those who feel that stricter regulations should be implemented in order to avoid the ‘problem’ of illegal immigrants, I do not feel that it is acceptable for a nation to allow the concept of a border to ruin the dreams of another human being.