By Micheael J. Whelan

A fellow Irishman friend of mine and I were saying earlier this week that at the rate things are going, we may have to dust off the hated sign that once hung proudly in countless storefronts throughout this great country of ours some one hundred plus years ago, “No Irish need apply.”

From the time of the Great Wall Of China, built by the Chinese emperors to hold back the Mongolian hordes, to Hadrians’ Wall, built in 122 A.D. by the Roman emperor Hadrian in Northern England to hold off the Scottish hordes, to the Berlin Wall, built by the communists to hold back democratic ideas from poisoning the East German citizens, it seems that we never ever learn that all such efforts are futile.

Now, most recently, our current crop of presidential wannabe’s are appealing to the xenophobes among us to hold back the thundering hordes of Muslims, and while they’re at it, by God, anyone else who doesn’t look exactly like us and talk and dress like us. Thank the Lord that most of the people who are trying to move here don’t look and talk exactly like us. I mean really folks, how many more people do we need who dress like they just got out of bed and are lined up in front of the newest franchise slop bucket fast food joint?

My wife and I live in an area where there are East Indian families who work at State Farm. The men all dress neatly, and the wives wear the prettiest of native attire. I can’t say that for most of us so-called Americans, can you?

So don’t let these racist hate-spewing clowns appeal to your lesser nature. They’re just doing it to get your votes, not to protect you from your worst fears. Once they get in office, they’ll be glad to do business with the very people they spend all this time condemning, if it means more campaign contributions coming in.

Michael J. Whelan has been a licensed practicing attorney for over 33 years. He also serves as an arbitrator in the 11th Judicial Circuit Mandatory Arbitration program. In addition, he is presently the president of the board of directors of his homeowners association, and is also a member of the board of directors of The Old House Society. He and his wife of thirty-one plus years, Cheryl Whelan, live in Bloomington. He and Cheryl enjoy exercising, reading, and being close to family and friends.

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