Arizona, like many states, faces problems that are not of its own making. In attempting to address them, Arizona has become the subject of ridicule and boycott from the national media. Even Jon Stewart made fun of us.
But many ASU students have unfortunately joined in the tarring.
The furor over Arizona’s new immigration law is remarkably similar, in many ways, to the controversy in the late 1980s and early ’90s over Arizona’s reluctance to implement a state holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr.
Then, as now, a legitimate, if ham-handed, impulse to take some measure of control back from a disconnected federal government was treated as a symbol of deep racism.
Then, as now, opponents of Arizona’s policies used race as a cudgel against Arizona sports, leading to the removal of the 1992 Super Bowl to California. Nostalgic for those days, activists now call for Major League Baseball to pull the 2011 All-Star Game from Arizona.
Then, as now, Arizona was no lone outpost of insanity. Then, more than twenty states initially refused to establish state versions of the holiday until pressed by the government. Now, nearly a dozen other states, unbowed by the cries of racism, are considering similar immigration measures.
Further, fair-minded observers must, now that the initial blaze of hysteria is cooling, realize that the law is not an exercise in bald-faced racism. Indeed, Governor Jan Brewer, in signing the bill, changed its wording to clarify that race can not be a factor in the law’s application. Neither is it some fascist departure from American principles, since it simply mirrors federal law at the state level.
Disagree with the law if you wish. It’s possible to be concerned about its enforcement, or about its constitutionality under federal preemption doctrine or about the provision that allows citizens to sue when they feel immigration laws are enforced with less than ample vigor. But don’t pretend the motivation was anything other than a legitimate concern over the long-neglected threat to public safety that an unsecured border continues to pose.
There is also no doubt that Arizona also faces economic distress. One proposed way to move forward — though not the only way — is through a temporary increase in the sales tax. Recent editorial and advertising campaigns argue that to vote “no” on the proposition dooms Arizona’s children to a dark age of ignorance.
Again, accusations fly, and again, they are unfair. To vote “no” is simply to believe that raising taxes may not be the best way to balance a budget. This belief is certainly not stupid or ignorant, even if you disagree with it.
Arizona is a fascinating place, one that defies easy characterization. To travel and know the state makes this clear. It is rich in natural beauty and steeped in a unique history. Its population is diverse, growing, and retains a peculiar, Goldwater-esque frontier spirit.
It is no desert wasteland, as anyone who has been to Flagstaff or Sedona can attest, nor is it aging and futureless, as its growth rate and number of young people reveal. It is not a land of unending sprawl and dull adobe homes, nor does it lack for culture, as visitors to First Fridays or any of downtown Phoenix’s emerging dining hotspots know.
Nor is it desperately racist and ignorant.
The impulse to join the chorus denouncing Arizona is strong. But ASU students should resist it. If you don’t like the law, work to change it. If you want a higher sales tax to pay for education, vote for it.
But to accuse its citizens of racism and ignorance is to join an unfair rush to judge your state. And Arizonans should be better than that.
Reach Will at wmunsil@asu.edu
