Anyone who has ever owned property wants to know where the lines are.
A survey defines the lines of what you own, what you are responsible for, what you will pay for it and what you will work to improve and protect.
Most of the problems and wars in this world come about when those boundary lines get messed up.
Many of our political problems are because people don’t know where the lines are.
I will even venture to say most of the crime in this world is due to people who don’t respect the lines.
The Middle East
A quick look at the news in the Holy Land shows one group violently crossed the line, then ran back across and now whines that those they offended have come over on their side of the fence seeking justice with a vengeance.
It is one thing to allege crimes committed, it is another to blatantly cross a boundary line and not expect serious repercussions.
The same holds true of Russia and the Ukraine, China and the South China Sea, North Korea and South Korea.
There are complicated political problems involved with each of these. These conflicts have a history that is older than most of us.
Establishing a border and allowing people to live in peace behind it is a right human beings in any culture deserve.
Immigration or is it emigration
Emigration means to migrate or leave one’s country to live in another.
Immigration is to migrate or come into another country to live permanently.
I guess it is a matter of perspective. Look at our Southern border.
There are millions of people fed up with conditions in their native country and who have the means and initiative to migrate to another country.
And then there are those who are destitute, have few skills, realize living poor and permanently in our country is very different from being poor in theirs.
I once migrated to Texas and found that to be a unique place to live.
Texans hold you at arm’s length until they get to know you and then wrap those arms around you.
They are welcoming of people who come to town to contribute to the community. They embrace a different culture quickly, taking the best and brightest ideas and calling them their own.
Do you like Mexican food? Have you ever watched how hard the people work in a Mexican restaurant? Have you ever gotten to know a Hispanic person and have them call you “amigo” in a tone that lets you know you truly are a friend?
I hope this town, this state and this country is open to those who come here follow the rules, know where the lines are, work hard and truly want to live next to me as a friend.
State Lines
Let’s make this local.
Do you realize it is almost the same number of miles from Beale Street to the recently announced truck battery plant in Marshal County that it is to the industrial park in Tunica?
It’s 37.3 miles or about 45 minutes to Marshall County and 38.8 miles and 50 minutes to Tunica.
The kicker is its five miles to the Tennessee line from the site in Marshall County and 27 miles to the state line from Tunica. And there are state tax dollars involved
Neither Marshall nor Tunica County voted for Tate Reeves. So it isn’t politics.
Tunica County has a 2,221-acre mega site currently available for development and another 3,000 available if you want it. So it’s not the land.
We could talk workforce, education and healthcare and there is some merit to that.
But I think it all boils down to stereotypes, misinformation and people who never gave The Delta a chance.
Clarksdale, Coahoma County and Northwest Mississippi is a good place to live. We just have to get in line and sell it.
Floyd Ingram is Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. He has watched economic development in three states and realizes it is people and not government or a demographic that makes it happen.
