I went to see a documentary film on Friday night, about the 800 miles of wall that is being built between the U.S/Mexico boarder. It ended up being less about the wall and more about the thousands of countless lives that are lost in an attempt to cross it. The movie exposed a simple truth, the American system of anti-immigration has crossed the boarder itself, a boarder into the realm of international misconduct and the inhumane treatment of people. In a group discussion with the director after the film one thing came to light. The problems that immigrants face today are not much different than those of our historical past. Although I can see how greed has become an ever increasing factor in the equation. I guess though that this is a double sided equation. I found it ironic that the number one employer in Mexico is Wal-Mart. Which has been responsible for setting a whole new lower price point. This with international trade agreements set about in the days of NAFTA and farm subsidies that drastically reduced the price of American corn, we have seen a decline in the standard of living in poor countries that has probably resulted in an upswing in the standard of living for those of us in rich countries. But this too can become confusing. At the end of the day it comes down to love and respect for people, which is not that complicated. Also we too need to take responsibility in curving our appetite for cheep, and realize that price tags carry with them a social cost, one that is not so easy to decipher. Yet, our patients (mostly Mexican immigrants) shop where? you guessed it Wal-Mart. Maybe this is what I really took away from this documentary: the true 800 mile Wall, is not one built across a boarder, but one that’s logo states “Save money. Live better.”