Are You Kidding Me?

HMJS Readers,

The following is an actual email that recently came across my desk. For the purposes of authenticity, I've made no changes to the grammar - I think you'll see why. I have a few thoughts after. Please enjoy. (Oh, one more thing. It's important to note the original email was in a Comic Sans font - as are most credible political manifestos. OK, now go ahead.)

Let me see if I got this right..... If you cross the North Korean border illegally you get 12 years hard labor. If you cross the Iranian border illegally you are detained indefinitely. If you cross the afghan border illegally, you get shot. If you cross the Saudi Arabian border illegally you will be jailed. If you cross the Chinese border illegally you may never be heard from again. If you cross the Venezuelan border illegally you will be branded a spy and your fate will be sealed. If you cross the Cuban border illegally you will be thrown into political prison to rot. If you cross the U.S. border illegally you get:
A job
A drivers license
Social security card
Welfare
Food stamps
Credit cards
Subsidized rent or a loan to buy a house
Free education
Free health care
A lobbyist in Washington
Billions of dollars worth of public documents printed in your language
The right to carry your country's flag while you protest that you don't get enough respect
And, in many instances, you can vote.
I just wanted to make sure i had a firm grasp on the situation!
Please...it's time to wake up Americia !!!!

Right about now, you're probably thinking what I was thinking. Where exactly is the country of "Americia" and why does this person think we need to wake them up? Must be an opium epidemic. My second response is to go immediately to Venezuela to become a spy! I've seen a bunch of James Bond movies and would love to wear a tuxedo and drive a cool Jaguar loaded with heat-seeking missiles. Lastly, as I'm between jobs currently, it looks like all I need to do for new employment in the U.S. is take a trip to Canada and back to get some offers. Not half bad, huh?

When did we stop caring about people other than those who look and speak like us? When did we stop realizing that foreigners wanting to live here is at the very least flattery to the greatness of our country and its rights? The truth is, if you lived in any of the other countries listed above and broadcasted a message criticising their government, the punishment might be much worse than just a random blogger making you infamous. Not sure what would happen to you in Americia.