When A Fence Becomes An Icon

This isn’t a political blog, and I don’t want to make it one. However, the President today signed legislation authorizing a 700-mile fence along our 2,000-mile border with Mexico. That fence will change a troublesome border into an ugly icon. Our business is in the north country, so we don’t have to deal with the daily hurt and economic consequences of this issue for both Americans and Mexicans. However, we are in the communication business, and we do know the power of iconography. Now that the idea for this fence is about to grow into a hugely expensive and tangible metaphor, there is a good chance its effect will be severely deleterious and far different than intended. In the end, I fear, all that will stand is a monument to failed solutions. The problem will still be there.

Some compare this fence to the Berlin Wall. I think that is fair only insofar as the Berlin Wall became an icon for oppression and a political system that was morally bankrupt. The United States is a great country and has a proud political system. That greatness will be sorely misrepresented by a symbol that speaks otherwise.