Lessons from Springfield
I just watched an Emmy Award winning video called “ Deport Them All- Who’s to blame for Springfield’s immigrant crisis”? Perhaps it may be easier to recall those now famous words : “ They’re eating cats and dogs”! The video was made by someone who wanted to get to the bottom of it all. Someone who wanted to find out what was really going on in Springfield. What was the cause for the unrest. What they unfolded after talking to people from different backgrounds in the city was an eye opener. The history of the city went from being a lazy town to one that saw rapid growth from a strong employer International Harvester backed by the power of workers union which attracted white Americans from the Appalachian region and also immigrants. This booming phase was followed by a decline brought on by government policies that cut funding for essential services like education and health care while allowing massive tax cuts for the rich. A group of people tried to revive the c...