There is nothing quite like politics to remind us of human imperfections. But I find one of the more depressing lessons to be that pandering to base human prejudices does not carry a political price for those who do it. In fact, it seems that the American public is often more likely to reward this sort of pandering than to punish it. Xenophobia, anti-gay bigotry, or anti-Islamic sentiment are the standards of today, but one does not have to go far back in history to see that the strategy is nothing new. Only the targets have changed.

Immigration is a legitimate problem for us to solve in that we still do not have viable immigration policy. Demonizing immigrants not only does not lead us to effective solutions but makes it less likely that problem-solving will even occur. Those who do it are not interested in solving any problem; they merely want to manipulate the public into voting for them.

Arizona's "papers please" law was an inexcusable blunder, but it is difficult to blame the average Arizona resident for feeling frustrated that the federal government appears to be ignoring the subject of immigration reform. And yet, it is difficult to imagine how those who were elected by demonizing immigrants are going to be able to come to the table for meaningful discussion without being viewed as traitors by those who elected them.

Immigration reform is a complex subject, and both conservatives and progressives have ideas that should be considered. Sadly, I am not sure this can happen until we stop electing those who pander to the bigoted elements of our electorate.

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