Please Welcome Joss Sheldon, Author of Freedom: The Case For Open Borders - A Book For Today's World!

 “The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respected stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges.” --George Washington

I am honored to welcome Joss Sheldon to Book Readers Heaven, to talk about his book, Freedom: The Case For Open Borders... It was 2016 when I first met Joss through his wonderful book, The Little Voice.  It was one of those books that I got excited about, so, take a few minutes, and go check out my post to learn more... But first, Joss, would you tell us a little about yourself, your books, and why you chose to write the type of books that you do...

Because I wouldn’t know how to write any other type! I write about the things which I’m passionate about – to say the things which other public figures aren’t saying. My first book was about a conscientious objector in World War I. I was motivated to write that novel, because I was horrified by how British society was becoming more militarised in the wake of the Iraq War. People were beginning to use jingoistic language as a matter of course, referring to soldiers as “heroes” who were “brave” and who “defended us” –all without any kind of kickback or debate. The UK introduced an Armed Forces Day. The red poppy, a symbol used to pay homage to soldiers, was becoming ubiquitous – plastered across every newspaper, featured on sports jerseys, and even worn by presenters on the supposedly “neutral” BBC. 

So I wanted to provide a counterpoint. To speak up for the people who refused to go abroad and slaughter people in their millions. To glorify the activists who campaigned against war, and to champion the conscientious objectors who refuse to take up arms. To call them the “heroes” who were “brave” and who “defended us.” I’ve carried that passion throughout my career – telling the stories which aren’t being told, giving a voice to the good people and good causes which make the world a better place.

As I began to read Freedom, I was intrigued about your first major relocation to India to write. I remember back in highschool, I, too, had a dream of moving to Australia--I chose an English-speaking country for easier ability to begin working there for a living... As with many, however, I wound up staying within the area I was born. But have traveled quite a bit, thankfully, to capture some of the essence of different cultures... So, Joss, I'd love to hear more about how and why you went to India, and which of your books you wrote there... and, the good or bad or painful emotions you felt as you worked to live in a new location...

It was never a permanent migration. And I think that’s an important distinction to make. So much of the discussion about migration focuses on those people who move from one place, and then make a permanent home in another. Usually, it’s pitched as a discussion of immigrants coming here, taking our jobs and homes! But of course, emigration is another dimension – it’s about our right abroad to retire, or live in a place with cheaper housing.

And then temporary migration, nomadism, is yet another dimension--it's about our right to go on holiday, travel, study, tour with a band, follow a sports team, or receive healthcare where its more affordable. That was the case for me: I went to India to launch my career as an author, because I knew the cost of living was cheap. I could get by on just £5 a day. So I could live out there for 18 months, whilst writing my debut novel, and that cost around £2000 (when you include flights and visas). That bought me the time I needed to write. I couldn’t have ever dedicated 18 months to writing, unpaid, had I remained in Britain.

For my second novel, “Occupied,” I travelled around Palestine and Kurdistan--for research. And then I returned to my village in India to write that book. That was that. It was never meant to be permanent. I was a kind of nomad. As for the emotions: There were no bad ones! I felt so liberated, escaping my career to dedicate myself to something I was passionate about. I used to clean my teeth each morning, look in the mirror, and think “I’m happy.”And I meant it.

Joss, your enthusiasm for writing--and life--is exciting to learn about! I'm so thankful that you agreed to allow me to spotlight your book, as well as talk with me in even more detail than you have in your book. Personally, I was amazed at the scope, the breadth, and, yet, a totally comprehensive look at the situation which is. at a focal point, a book about Borders...but looking at it through the lens of personal freedom... I was enthralled as I turned the pages and saw how you began your book... My question is, is this your normal method for writing, or did you feel you had to build your case right at the beginning?

If people don’t like the first few pages of a book, there’s a good chance they’ll stop reading. So you have to catch a reader’s interest. And the introduction has to give a flavour of things to come – to set the scene. 

I like to fill my non-fiction work with stories, to make them easy to read and entertaining. And, likewise, I like to base my novels on real world facts and situations, to make them relevant. I like to blend the two forms together.

I'm glad to hear your thoughts on catching the reader's attention. Having read thousands of books, I can immediately tell the difference and weigh my options... Most of the time, I go ahead and read the book but having to read, say, about 50 pages and still be looking for something to hold my attention is, simply tedious... If I were reading it as a review, I would often highlight this issue, hopefully received as a critical recommendation for consideration...

I wondered about the short tale about not knowing which country someone lived in and its relevance to the weather... A bit of sarcasm, a delightful joke, or what meaning did you want to have set the stage for what was to come?

Do you mean the David Graeber quote at the beginning of the book? I love Graeber, he’s a big inspiration. So I’ll use any excuse to put a quote of his in my work! But yeah, the point was simple enough: For the majority of history, people governed themselves within their communities. They had very little interaction with the governments which supposedly ruled over the land, and which later drew borders onto maps. Such things were an irrelevance. People continued on with their lives. And with the exception of serfdom and slavery, most people had the right to go wherever they wanted, as though those borders didn’t exist. Borders really only became an impediment to movement around the time of World War I.

Almost immediately you hone in on 2015 and Donald Trump's beginning to speak about running for the presidency, citing Immigrants as a major problem. Tell me, was that when the idea for this book began? Did it have to do with the blatant false accusations he was making? Or was his speech just the icing on the cake of an idea that had been festering for awhile?

The point is that it’s not just Trump. He’s just the poster boy for the anti-freedom movement. But he has clones in almost every country. I’ve been more concerned about his so-called “opposition.” Trump and his ilk are saying immigrants are bad, immigration is too high, we need to take away people’s right to move, and spend a fortune to stop travellers going wherever they please. And his opponents are like, “Yeah, we agree: immigration is too high, and we do need to reduce it… Just not like that. And won’t you please tone down your language?”

None of these politicians are saying that immigration is amazing, that immigrants improve our economies and societies, that we should be encouraging more migration, and improving our freedom to move. Well, a few are in places like Canada, China and Japan – as I cover in a later chapter. But in most nations, these voices have been gagged. So I felt I needed to speak up. To be the voice of the voiceless. To widen the discussion, and the political spectrum.

I totally agree! It was only after Trump was in office and we began to see his inclination to "believe" Putin, or "fall in love" with Kim Jong Un, et.al., that we saw his unhealthy behavior towards dictators!

While it is difficult for me to ask, what can you tell me about how America is being perceived based upon immigration issues piling up?

 I think the rest of the world has its own issues. I certainly know of people in Britain who thought you were mad to elect Trump. But then we elected Johnson, so it’s not as though we hold the moral high ground! People in the Philippines seem quite warm to Americans in general, and indifferent to international politics. But there are certainly people in those countries which have felt the full force of American military intervention which I’ll have a thing or two to say on that front!

When you begin to spotlight the need for free borders, do you know, and accept, just how long it might take to achieve such a goal? 

As Nelson Mandela once said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” He was talking about ending apartheid, which must have seemed impossible for many decades. Then it happened in super-quick time. Female enfranchisement would’ve been similar. Activists spent over a century demanding votes for women, but as soon as the first few countries got onboard, lots of others followed suit. 

We see something similar with borders: Most borders were undefined for most of our history. Then there was a flurry of border making in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Passports came into fashion a little, fell out of use, and then were used as a tool for shoring up hard borders around the time of World War I. So that all happened fairly quickly. 

If open borders can become closed borders in a relatively short period of time, why can’t hard borders become open in a similarly short timeframe? When it happens, I doubt it’d take long, but the journey up to that point may very well take a while.

 I think we need to start the conversation, which is what I hope to do with this book. We need to ask people to think about things from their own personal perspective – wouldn’t you like to have the right to go and live somewhere cheaper, or somewhere where jobs come with longer holidays, or somewhere with a better climate? Then you stretch it to others: Well, if you think that you’d like that, don’t you think others would like it to? Why should we discriminate against other people on the basis of where they were born? Why not give everyone equal rights, regardless of their birthplace or nationality? 

One of the things that pops into my mind, because I know it exists, are these issues: Love of Self, or Fear of others; also greed and power-hunger... To me, these have grown so much that I wonder could we eliminate each individual's need for security and basic needs... I'm referring specifically to Maslow's hierarchy of needs... Even in America, many are struggling for food security and housing, which are the first of basic human needs. And, if they are not met, are we faced when continued death by these limits. Obviously I'm referring to Africa, Gaza, Syria, and countries in South America who are being run by drug cartels... 

Yeah, that’s why we need to frame it in terms of the self. How would you wish to be treated if you were starving, or homeless, or persecuted. Wouldn’t you want to have the ability to move somewhere else, where you’d be freed from that suffering? That’s how you build empathy. 

This, of course, includes the rights of Americans to emigrate. If an American is “struggling for food security and housing,” then they should have the right to leave, and make a home for themselves in a place where those things are cheaper or more readily available. There are lots of Americans here in the Philippines--mainly retirees. If they’d stayed in the USA, they’d be really struggling. But out here, they live like kings! 

I could never have bought a house in Britain. But I bought my first house in Bulgaria for less than a garage would’ve cost me in London. In the Philippines, I have a nice new house on 1.7 hectares of land. Emigration made that possible. 

Right now, we sadly have in America a man who negatively informs the response to immigrants. Even if Trump doesn't get elected, the individuals who supported him are so different than the people needed to open our borders, even in a rational, planned manner. I believe that our border system is also being politized. I used to tell thousands of students and teachers "where to go" as a classroom scheduler. Any bureaucratic process can be made to function efficiently. We should be doing this right now.

 You’re not going to win Trump’s hardest supporters over. But you could at least categorise them as “anti-freedom” and “freedom haters.” They’re denying us our freedom to move! You could challenge their authoritarianism; with their lawfare, aggressive guards, and border walls. And you could call out the amount they’re wasting on these things--billions of dollars of taxpayers money a year. We need to make these emotional arguments. It’s not enough to go on the back foot--defending foreigners for Trump. We must also go on the front foot--challenging Trump’s supporters for the anti-American hatred of freedom.

But my main target is the so-called “Moderates,” who’ve allowed their views and policies to be dragged towards those of Trump. Biden is spending more on border control than any other president in history--way more than Trump spent during his term in office. Biden and his peers are buying into this notion that people can be “illegal”, and that travellers should be stopped from crossing an imaginary line someone drew on a piece of paper once upon a time. And that’s deeply worrying – it means there’s no real opposition to Trumpism. So we need to broaden the conversation. We need to pull these Democrats back to what would’ve been deemed a moderate position in the past. 

And, in Britain, are we looking at a limitation of land by which decisions are made? Specifically, is there enough land there or in other smaller countries where many additional immigrants could be housed?

There’s an abundance of land all around the world. It’s really not in short supply. There’s around 48 million square kilometres of habitable land on planet Earth--enough for about 6000 square metres of land per person. 

We do have a shortage of housing in some places in the UK, but there’s a simple answer to that: Build more homes! And do you know who can help us to do that? Immigrants can! Immigrants are more likely to be of a working age, and they’re more likely to actually work. They’re the very architects, plumbers, bricklayers, electricians and scaffolders we need to build those very homes! 

We should also bear in mind that there’ll be even more land available in the northernmost parts of our hemisphere when climate change kicks in. Places like Canada, Greenland and Russia are going to have millions of square kilometres of land which wasn’t habitable before, but which will become liveable in the near future. There’ll be more than enough for everyone – which is fortunate because a lot of people who live near the equator will be forced to move away! And the good news is that Canada and Russia are already encouraging inwards migration. The Russians are giving a hectare of land away for free to anyone who moves to its Eastern Provinces. 

Historically, if we know that people who relocated to the United States, at the same time also forced indigenous people already living across the nation to lose their land so that eventually, they were forced to cluster, never to roam again as their nature and culture demanded, how can we delete the selfishness and "rights" that now people have?

I don’t think that “rights” are a bad thing. I’m arguing for the right to move. And that should include the right to roam for indigenous people.

In the UK, we grant gypsies a number of pitches where they can make camps, before moving onto another location. We don’t provide nearly enough, and those communities are subject to a lot of abuse. But it is something you could copy. If you did, that’d make life better for more nomadic people and for wanderers in general. 

We also have public pathways in the UK, where people have a right to roam. I’m talking here about footpaths which cut across fields in the countryside – land which is owned by private farms. That right was actually secured by mass trespasses–where people young and old marched across the countryside, demanding the right to access that land.

Wow! I love that concept. I have about 13 acres surrounding me, but I try to prevent hunters crossing... Movement could be from one of my own outside cat family and I don't want them harmed... Still...  You believe on an individual basis, most people will try to help others, I agree. But… are known obstacles really able to be reduced or eliminated?

As Tony Benn once stated, “Every generation has to fight the same battles.” We can eliminate some obstacles, and then others will appear. And then we’ll have to fight to remove those. There is no final victory, or final defeat. 

I’d like to think that technology should help though. It could help us to get international passports and international citizenships--working out how long we spent in any given place--to whom we should pay our taxes, and from whom we should receive our pensions. We could register online whenever we arrive in a new place – removing the need for border agents. We’re already seeing something like this in Estonia. And we’re seeing digital nomad visas slowly coming into fashion across the world. These things are all reducing those barriers you mention.

Thank you so much, Joss, for providing a bright spot of a possible future for all of us--those who dream about wanting a better place where we have chosen to spend our lives. Or, the thought that those who wish to relocate for whatever reason, is an exciting and hopeful future that could start happening...and spread! You started by saying that you write about issues that you are passionate about... May your passion begin to be shared here in America, simply by acknowledging that immigration was, has been, and should be again, what America is all about!

Freedom: The Case For Open Borders By Josh Sheldon - A Final Look...

 

Joss Sheldon is a passionate individual, a world-wide traveler who writes books based upon his own personal passion for issues he sees across the world. He wants a better world... He wants a world where each of us has personal freedom. A personal freedom that is not bogged down by those who live among us, who, for whatever reason, has chosen to purposely affect others in some negative manner. Purely because they want to. Or, worse, because they have been trained to, either by parents, teachers, religious leaders, or, politicians. Specifically the leaders of each country.

When Joss Sheldon sees or feels the distress, the pressure being put on others who have no control over their lives, he wants to fight back, on their behalf. Invariably this results in a new book. There are now eight books written, all on a similar theme... Why are there people who choose to disrupt the lives of others, in order for them to be totally happy? His basic instinct is to assume that there are ways to stop these unwanted intrusions. His latest book takes on the highly complex issue of Freedom. Then, honing in on a present, now headline issue, which has been either ignored, or purposely delayed so that it can be used purely for political reasons.

His approach for this book was to use a basic scientific approach of identifying the problem, researching the issue, verifying the pros and cons of his proposed solution, and making a recommendation. Sheldon then presents his "Case For Open Borders" to his readers across the world.

At the end of the book, I had accepted his hypothesis. However, I also immediately wondered if it was merely a pipedream. Then as I talked to my best friend about the book's concept, I threw out my own hypothesis... 

For hundred of years, we've heard people write or talk about The Second Coming... After hearing about those times when somebody made a formal claim, a specific date, and that date happened and yet Christ never came, I've pondered this for many years. And, after reading this book, my hypothesis is that, when each country has opened their borders to all people, regardless of race, religion or any other difference, then, we would have ALL accepted the Words of Christ to love our neighbor... and He would come to reign over Earth once again...

I watch The Last Word every time it is on, recording the full hour and watching it later. The above video popped up when I was looking for the song Let There Be Peace on Earth... Listen to the part where the Senator emphasizes the beating of a Black man and then his attackers were all set free...

The pounding point of his pen reminded me of a Good Friday gathering where the same concept was used to pound out the impact of the nails being hammered into the feet and arms of Jesus Christ.

The whole church was silent as the hammer pounded, each knowing that it was exactly how many hits it took to nail Jesus to the Cross... The effect now brings the same chilling awareness. The same sense of loss... The same realization that another Black Man had been chosen, beaten by four white police officers... And freed by a white jury... Once this is heard, once you realize just how cruel people can be to other people, I know that Open Borders will never happen in my lifetime... Will it happen in Yours? I believe God is watching America right now. I believe that those who have incited hate and division on false premises, lies, deceit and violence will be stopped! 

Do you hear the pounding of a pen by a democratic senator who witnessed that violence, that prejudice, that hatred, yet know that time has marched on, and very little has changed. And, in some ways, gotten worse. If you hear or see what has happened, and yet believe that Open Borders should be possible, then I encourage you to read Freedom: The Case for Open Borders. And, if you listen very hard, you'll begin to hear the birds chirping, the bees buzzing, smell the green grass of spring, see the beauty of God's World created for us and know that surely God Himself, the great I AM, wants to have America become a nation, perhaps one of the first nations, who will open borders in a structured, professional and controlled manner which shows that we Americans all truly love our neighbors as God asks us... And that, we will work in concert with all other democracies to begin to support and welcome all those who wish to come to America, without concern about being turned away...

This book begs you to reset any hesitations you have about the future and look toward an America that is truly a land of the Free... Even as recognizing that America is now free only to some...

ALL OVER THE WORLD, PEOPLE ARE CRYING OUT TO BE FREE! I believe this book is an excellent treatise of just how much people desire--and--deserve to live free. All over the world!

GABixlerReviews

This is My Father's World - From Freedom: The Case For Open Borders - By Joss Sheldon

 

EVERYTHING HAS ALWAYS BEEN MOVING 

The ground beneath your feet is also on the move, albeit at a rather pedestrian pace… The science of “plate tectonics” tells us that Earth’s lithosphere--its two outermost layers--is comprised of seven or eight major “plates”, as well as several smaller “platelets”. These have been moving across the planet’s surface for 3.4 billion years. Sometimes, these continents come together, to form a single supercontinent. We’re talking about the likes of “Columbia,” a landmass shaped like a piece of pizza, which formed two billion years ago. Columbia broke up into smaller continents, which then reunited to form “Rodinia”. This process repeated itself--resulting in “Pannotia”--a supercontinent located around the South Pole. The most recent supercontinent was called “Pangea”. It formed around 335 million years ago, was home to the dinosaurs, and broke up after another 135 million years--forming Asia, Africa and the Americas-- continents which continue to migrate today; travelling just under ten centimetres a year. (Li et al, 2008). (Read & Watson, 1975). 

Plants appeared on Earth a fair while after the continental plates--just under half a billion years ago. And you’d never guess what: They also move around! Their seeds are so light, they can be carried by the breeze--in rivers and oceans--within birds’ stomachs, claws and feathers. They’ve been known to make some rather long expeditions… Around 1.4 million years ago, a seabird carried the seeds from acacia trees in Hawaii--either in its stomach or in its wings-- before depositing them on Réunion Island, eighteen thousand kilometres away! (Le Roux et al, 2014). The chances are that only a few seeds survived the journey. They took root, multiplied, and began to evolve. But plant migration doesn’t only occur when a few plants travel alone. Sometimes, a great number of plants move together... The most recent Great Tree Migration occurred at the end of the last Ice Age, ten thousand years ago. As the ice receded, the trees which had survived in more temperate locales--further from the poles, at altitude, and in protected pockets of land--began to spread across the newly unfrozen terrain. Fossilised pollen shows that oak trees migrated across Scotland at a rate of one kilometre per year. Beach trees moved from one side of the Great Lakes to the other. Norwegian spruces circumnavigated both the North Sea and the Baltic. (Bridle, 2022). It’s not quite the acacia. These trees didn’t travel eighteen thousand kilometres in a single journey. But they experienced a mass migration-- moving together, along with their peers.

~~~

Once Sheldon introduces all who are world citizens in today's reality, he quickly and, almost, lovingly begins to share about the world in which we all live: Planet Earth. Again, he moved backward historically showing the concept of how the earth has changed. How the creatures of earth had changed... In doing so, he erases little prejudice in acknowledging the science behind how the earth was formed. Indeed, I personally have never found it contradictory to talk about evolution... It exists. Period. Nor does it exclude that God was the creator. After all, man invented time. often, in order to study what was found as evidence from the past... We learned that "Adam" was to be the shepherd over all of the animals--to even name them. We also learned of Lilith, Adam's first wife... So it is not difficult to understand all that might have happened about which nobody was able to record...

Sheldon talks about migration during the beginning of the world, providing bits and pieces of research to help readers to think back on some of their school teachings or, perhaps, be the first time that some will have explored earth's beginnings. It's a wonderful story that you tend to sit back and relax in its exploration...

Things like those birds who often assisted in spreading seeds from plants in different parts of the world. And, as they traveled, brought varieties of new types of plants here, there, and everywhere. I remember one year when I came out my door and looked toward a flower bed to my right. For the first time, I saw two new plants that had not previously been there. They seemed to have grown overnight. But, I saw that they were evenly spaced where they were, Perhaps, I realized, birds had fed on my other plants and had dropped the seeds. But, they were trees that would grow higher than would be safe, so we transplanted them. They didn't like the relocation and died, sadly...

After the exploration of our animals migratory and reproduction actions, Sheldon turns to the scientific exploration of man's historical migration. For, surely, we must accept all of the newest scientific data on humans... DNA, for instance, as being the basic components which make up our bodies... 

However, this is a central part of Sheldon's, as he explores...the...early...migrations of humanity.

NO-ONE IS INDIGENOUS: Borders attempt to divide us – to say that we’re all inherently different – that some people belong in certain places, whilst others belong elsewhere. And yet our biology disagrees. We all have longish legs, dexterous hands, and oversized brains. We all have lungs, kidneys and bladders. This remains true, no matter where we were born – whether we’re American or Mexican, British or Polish, Indian or Pakistani. There’s no such thing as a “British gene.” Mexicans and Americans have the same DNA. Our genetics are universal... 

Can you believe that? I can... Consider a simple match test for somebody like me. Is my blood a different color than my Black friends, my indigenous friends, et.al.? No, it's not... Later in the book, there is a reference to the Tower of Babel...

Whether or not you choose to believe the Bible's story, or not, we do know that people became who they are, based upon the location in which they were born. Continuing along these lines, Sheldon simply presents the scientific changes that occurred to those who were originally born in one land, Africa, then to migrate out from those lands, following their desire to see other lands, to enjoy the world that surrounded their homes... But, no matter where the original individuals traveled (or were placed by God) they continued to evolve to adjust to the particular land in which they had chose... Yet, continued to have the basic genetics, the basic DNA composition that every single person on the earth has!

Many who are in America, including me, are incensed by a man who is campaigning on what would happen if he were elected again in 2024... Certainly a threat to our democracy. But, when you stop and think about it, whether through early migration or by having God place people across the world He created, it is quite clear that there is NO way that blood can be contaminated... Simply because we are all created equally... While my emphasis on the above is based upon my own knowledge, here's how Sheldon uses a parable to explain the theory.

It’s a run-of-the-mill American chat show. Two guests are sitting on upholstered chairs, which have been arranged at a ninety-degree angle – half-facing their host, and half-facing the studio audience. The show’s presenter, Trisha Goddard, is sitting on a matching chair-- wearing a tight-fitting, blue-and-black ensemble. Peering over the top of her glasses, Goddard reads from a golden certificate. She’s addressing her guest, Craig Cobb--a racial separatist who’s attempting to establish a white-only enclave in North Dakota. Cobb is relatively handsome for a man his age, with flowing grey hair, and a tidy beard. Dressed in a regal-red shirt and tie, he exudes the confidence of a man who has total faith in his philosophy: That black and white people are like “Oil and water”, and that “Oil and water don’t mix,” “Craig Paul Cobb has undergone DNA testing,” Goddard begins. “To determine his genetic ancestry. It is 86% European, and, err...” Hahaha-hee-hah! The second studio guest, a black woman who is wearing a colourful hat, leans back and emits a joyous chortle. It’s contagious. As she slaps her thigh, the audience amplifies her response-- hollering, clapping and stamping. The second studio guest encourages Goddard to continue. “Give it to him,” she cheers. “Give it to him.” And Goddard is only too happy to oblige: “14% Sub-Saharan African.” Cobb emits a nervous smile, as the audience continues to cheer. “Wait a minute,” he protests, as cheerily as he can. “Hold on...” “Wah-ay!” Goddard cheers. “Ho!” But Cobb remains defiant: “This is called ‘Statistical noise’.” Goddard leans forward, nodding furiously, whilst her eyes bulge out from their sockets: “Sweetheart, you have a little black in you.” Cobb repeats his refrain: “Listen. I tell you this: Oil and water don’t mix.” But Goddard is already on her feet, leaning into Cobb’s personal space, and offering him a fist pump: “Hey... ‘Bro’.” She offers another fist pump, and Cobb declines again. But it makes little difference. The science has spoken: This proud American is 86% European and 14% African. Oil and water do mix. They’re mixed up within his DNA. But there’s another fact, implicit in these results, which goes unmentioned: Eighty-six and fourteen add up to a hundred. Cobb is 100% European and African. He’s not even the slightest bit Native American. He’s the descendant of immigrants – a guest in another land. There was nothing particularly unusual about Cobb’s DNA… A study conducted by genealogists from the Harvard Medical School, in collaboration with 23andMe, asked Americans to self-identify their ancestry. They were categorised as “European Americans,” for example, if they selected “Not Hispanic,” if they also selected “White,” and if they didn’t select another category. Of these self-identifying “European Americans," which would’ve included the likes of Craig Cobb--3.5% were shown to have at least 1% Sub-Saharan African ancestry. In the south, one-in-ten people who self-identified as white, had some African ancestry. But very few had any American DNA. On average, only 0.18% of their DNA was Native American. The other 99.82% had come from immigrants. It was actually those people who self-identified as “Latinos,” and only as “Latinos,” who had the highest proportion of local DNA. 18% of their genetic makeup was Native American. They were a hundred times more American than people like Craig Cobb. Let that sink in for a moment: The people trying to cross over from Mexico into the USA, were over a hundred times more American than the likes of Donald Trump--the people who were trying to stop them. The descendants of immigrants, with massive amounts of foreign DNA, were pointing their fingers at people who did have some American DNA, and saying “You’re too foreign. You can’t come in.” The science would beg to differ. (Bryc et al, 2015). 

At that point I had to smile. Perhaps you've noticed that our writer is a Brit who is speaking out about our past-president--but I want to quickly say that he also talks about the former blond PM in his homeland as well. LOL The key point is that when somebody lies, there will always be people who know they are lying, because they know they can prove the truth... 

Do we need to explore this further, I don't think so, do you? The Constitution says that we are all created equal and to be afforded the same rights. Science says that we are all, basically, the same, differing only based upon where we were born... And, most importantly, those who believe our God created all of us, must surely accept that He sees all of us as His Children. Not to be rejected, no matter what color our skin... Opening our borders is the least we can do to meet the needs of our neighbors...  

Other Worlds Are Possible - Joss Sheldon begins... Freedom: The Case for Open Borders

 

OTHER WORLDS ARE POSSIBLE 

This book fills the void which was created by the shift towards authoritarianism--to share the ideas which are missing from the mainstream narrative--making the case for free movement. I want to arm you with the information you’ll need to challenge the anti-freedom agenda. So that when someone repeats a Trumpian falsehood--these ideas that “Immigrants take our jobs,” or that “They’re not like us”--you can respond with the facts that debunk their lies. 

I want to help you to challenge the politics of fear and hatred, so that we may usher in  new politics based on the humanity we all hold in common, no matter where we were born. 

Does that sound crazy? Perhaps it does! But let’s not forget that this narrowing of the political spectrum has been a relatively recent occurrence. Politicians were willing to extend a warm welcome to their international guests, in the not-too-distant past. Do you recall the George Washington quote at the beginning of this chapter? When he said the USA was open to strangers from “All nations and religions”? Well, that kind of statement used to be the norm. Harry Truman won the 1948 presidential election, after promising to overturn controls on migration. He later stated: “We do not need to be ‘Protected’ against immigrants… On the contrary, we want to stretch out a helping hand, to save those who have managed to flee (from the USSR)… To welcome and restore them.” (Volner, 2019). John F Kennedy once said: “Immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.” He also declared: “We are a nation of immigrants.” And Barack Obama echoed his predecessor, when he stated: “We are and always will be a nation of immigrants.” 

But it wasn’t only Democrats who used to speak in such a manner. Take these quotes from the three Republican presidents who preceded Donald Trump, beginning with Ronald Reagan, who said this in 1980: “(Rather than) talking about putting up a fence, why don’t we work out some recognition of our mutual problems, make it possible for them to come here legally with a work permit, and then, while they’re working and earning here, they pay taxes.” Reagan’s successor, George Bush Senior, reminded the nation that the USA was built by immigrants, when he said this in 1990: “Our nation is the enduring dream of every immigrant who ever set foot on these shores, and the millions still struggling to be free. This nation, this idea called America, was and always will be a new world--our new world.” And Bush’s son, George Junior, extolled the immigrant work ethic, while speaking in 2004: “As a Texan, I have known many immigrant families, mainly from Mexico, and I’ve seen what they add to our country. They bring to America the values of faith in God, love of family, hard work, and self-reliance--the values that made us a great nation.” George W. Bush also admitted that, “Nearly all Americans have ancestors who braved the oceans--liberty-loving risk takers in search of an ideal... Immigration is not just a link to America’s past--it’s also a bridge to America’s future.” (Ortiz, 2016).

If these Republican politicians, who certainly weren’t a bunch of “bleeding heart liberals,” could’ve spoken so glowingly about immigration in the recent past, then they should be able to do so again in the future. You never know: This book might swing them back in the right direction!

 

EVERYONE HAS A STORY 

I suppose I have skin in the game… I was born in Barnet – a fairly anonymous suburb on London’s outermost fringe. My father grew up in the area. But my mother moved around a little--she grew up in Oxford, went to study in Liverpool, and headed down to London when she began her career. My grand-parents were also born in England. So, it’d be easy for me to consider myself British through-and-through. My family speak English with an English accent. We eat fish and chips, go to football matches, and whinge about the weather. I’ve never heard any of my relatives refer to themselves as “immigrants”. In reality, all eight of my great-grandparents moved to England from Eastern Europe, between the two World Wars--fleeing from antisemitism. If they hadn’t made that journey, they might’ve been murdered by the Nazis. I wouldn’t be here today, writing this book. How many other lives were saved, thanks to similar journeys? And how many of the six million Jews who were slaughtered, would’ve been saved had there been open borders, providing them with a passageway to safety? It’s sobering to think. But free movement, for me, isn’t something that’s limited to the dark annals of history. It’d be fair to say that without international travel, you wouldn’t be reading this book for a second, entirely different reason… In December 2012, I left my job at Northampton Town Football Club. I was determined to write and release my debut novel. But I only had a few thousand pounds in the bank. Would that money have sufficed, had I remained in England? No way! I’d have spent it in a few months, whilst I was only a fraction of the way through the first draft, and I’d have been forced to get another job to pay the bills. Perhaps I could’ve written part-time. But that book, Involution & Evolution,  took almost two years to complete. Distracted by a job, and by fatigue, it would’ve taken even longer. Given that it was a bit of a flop, I’d have probably lacked the motivation to keep writing. The chances are that I wouldn’t have made it to book number eight, and you wouldn’t be reading it today. So, what happened? 

Well, I “moved,” of course. I put the word in quotation marks, because I didn’t take up permanent residence abroad. I was more of a nomad. I went to India--one of the cheapest countries on the planet. I rented a rather basic room, for around £70 a month. I washed my clothes by hand, on the floor beneath the shower. I cooked porridge in a kettle for breakfast, and ate my other meals at the cheapest restaurants. All in all, I survived on about £5 a day. Even when you add in the cost of flights and visas, it’s not hard to see how I made my money last for around eighteen months, enough time to complete the first two drafts of my novel. Moving to another country, helped me to launch my new career. It also helped me to put down roots… 

Even as a relatively successful author, there was no way I could’ve bought a house back in Barnet. According to Right Move, the average property in my hometown sold for £891,938 (in 2022). The average apartment cost £509,664. At the same time, according to Words Rated, the average indie author was only making a thousand dollars a year. You do the math! So, what did I do? I wrote my first two books in India and Nepal, before writing my third--The Little Voice  while house-sitting for friends in Spain. When that began to sell, I treated myself. I wrote my fourth novel, Money Power Love, in the food-lovers paradise of Thailand. It was there that I met my (now) wife. We moved to the Philippines and then to Bulgaria, where we bought a three-bedroom house on the edge of the Pirin National Park. With beautiful mountain views, that little slice of paradise was a short drive away from a ski resort and an assortment of hot springs. It cost me around £30,000 – the sort of price that a moderately successful indie author could afford to pay. 

After a few years, my wife began to miss the land of her birth--the Philippines. I could tell that she’d be happier if we returned to that island nation. So here we are today. We’ve bought a little under two hectares of land, for about £25,000, and a team of builders are erecting our home as I type--replete with a well, water-filtration system, solar panels and wind turbine. We plan to grow our food, live off-grid, and be fairly self-sufficient. It's not the sort of life everyone would wish for themselves, and it certainly has its downsides. But it’s the life we’ve chosen. And there’s no way we could’ve afforded it back in Britain. We had to move, to enjoy this lifestyle. We’ve been incredibly fortunate, to be able to do such a thing. The British passport is a powerful tool--it makes it easy for Brits to relocate. 

But still, there’s a part of me that feels conflicted. I feel like a spoilt brat, hopping from one place to the next, whilst other people are forced to remain where they are, and accept circumstances which were imposed upon them at birth. There’s one rule for one group of people, and another rule for everyone else. That’s not right, it’s not just, and it’s not fair.

Everyone has a story. They tend to be fairly unique. And the nuance is often lost. We rarely hear about those people who move abroad to enjoy a cheaper cost of living. We seldom speak about those people who move for the sake of a homesick spouse. Have you ever come across anyone else who moved from Britain to India, to launch a career as an author? Discussions about migration tend to focus on the negatives. 

But not everyone who moves is a victim--a “refugee,” an “asylum seeker,” or an impoverished “economic migrant.” People relocate for thousands of reasons--most of which we never stop to consider--most of which are positive and beautiful. People move to study, retire, or make a fresh start--to experience different cultures, climates and lifestyles. It’s true that some of us only make single journeys--emigrating from one place, and immigrating into another. But plenty of “returnees” do head back in the other direction. Other people are more nomadic. Some move around their regions, whilst others traverse the globe. They might settle down for a few weeks, a few years, or a few decades. 

Whatever the case, one fact remains: No-one chooses the place where they were born. It’s a lottery. You might be fortunate. You might be born in the perfect nation for you--one with all the opportunities you’ll need to become the best version of yourself. Then again, you might not. It seems inherently unjust to trap people in particular lands, simply because they were born there, when they could attain self-fulfilment elsewhere. It’s also a historic anomaly… 

Beginning with the reality of what immigration has come to mean in the world is so very difficult... In America, Russia, and, through one man, even Israel, it has become a purely political matter where one party is willing to harm these people... purely to gain  power! In fact, within or without the United States, we have seen what is happening when those who are known for authoritarian domains, wars have sprung up, people are dying...

Let's be specific... Putin has initiated a war against the freedom enjoyed in Ukraine... Netanyahu had been under investigation when Hamas attacked, but he has now used his authoritarian ways to keep a war going in Gaza that has already been declared inhumane and criticized across the world. The leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei funded Hamas and other terrorist groups who are now attacking ships in the area, and more...

It is quite clear to me, at least, and many others that if the past president of America would be reinstalled as president, it would be a total destruction of our lives as Trump has clearly stated that he would be a dictator on day 1 if elected and would then work with other dictators to rule supreme...

While I hold confidence this will not happen, nevertheless, many now live in fear, which includes, fear of those who see the United States as a safe haven. And hundreds have already come from another dictator's country, China, because of the move toward even more suppression in all ways.

ALL OVER THE WORLD, PEOPLE ARE CRYING OUT TO BE FREE! I believe this book is not only an excellent treatise of just how much people desire--and--deserve to live free. All over the world!

After his introduction related to the political climate, Sheldon immediately moves into a comprehensive research review of historical account of how people lived. As I read, I began to sink further and further into the beauty, the awareness, the reality of living free. This, to me, is what God intends for all. And, for America, as guaranteed to us in our Constitution. And, then, I realized even more just how one leader of a bordered country can quickly, or slowly, remove each and every freedom... just by demanding "borders" around a perceived ownership of property!

Homo sapiens have been moving about, establishing homes in various locations, for at least eighty thousand years. Earlier humans, such as Homo habilis, were wandering the Earth around two million years ago!

In America most of us now have the luxury to move within the country at will... until recently. Many of us know that historically those from another world first came to America, seeing it "mostly" free of people and decided that the land was up for grabs... Many of those who were presently living on this land, who had moved from place to place, to hunt, to move for climate improvement, or to establish a home place soon learned that immigrants coming to their land were not interested in their nomadic moves based upon living in the best possible climate at any given time... Soon, it resulted in violence, murder and...theft...

Sheldon points out that we all have some need to move, to go to places different than where we were born. In fact, he begins to give statistics of movement of people from location to location. Specifically, unless you live in Africa where you were born, all of us are immigrants in the land of the free! 

Thus begins the History of Movement

“And what is a border, if not a story? It is never simply a line, a marker, a wall, an edge. First, it’s an idea. An idea that is then presented as a reality. It doesn’t just exist in the world. It can only ever be made. It can only ever be told.” --James Crawford

Boom! No, that doesn’t do it justice. BOOM! No, that doesn’t even come close. The universe didn’t begin with a big bang. It began with a massive bang. The sort of explosion that’s impossible to conceive. A melee of gamma rays, heat and light. This massive bang dispersed all the physical matter that’s ever existed, at more than a billion kilometres per hour. That matter would go on to form stars, planets, trees, animals and humans--but it would never stop moving. Every gram of matter that exists today, has been in constant motion for 13.8 billion years--travelling away from the site of the big bang. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is no exception: It travels 2.1 million kilometres every single hour. Planet Earth is also beholden by this rule of constant motion. It’s orbiting the sun--travelling 107 million kilometres in an hour. Our solar system is also moving around the Milky Way. 

And there’s more: That’s because the Earth is rotating on its axis. If you’re standing on the equator, you’ll be travelling 1,600 kilometres each hour, thanks to this phenomenon alone. All this means one thing: You’re migrating right now. It might not seem that way. You might be very comfortable, relaxing on a sofa, sipping a cup of cocoa. Everything might feel pretty stable. But in reality, you’re whizzing through space at a mind-boggling velocity. You’ve never been where you are at this moment, and you’ll never be there again. This has always been the case. The history of the universe, is a history of continuous travel through space. (Fraknoi, 2007).

Reading this book instilled a sure knowledge that freedom is precious--precious enough that we must fight to keep, or obtain, it! Now when it is so apparent in so many ways across our world, take the time to learn how and why voting is just one of the ways we can be free...

Next: This is My Father's World!

Freedom: The Case For Open Borders - Joss Sheldon - Introduction

It’s the 16th of June, back in 2015. Donald Trump is riding an escalator in the Manhattan tower he’s named after himself. The skin beneath his chin is sagging over a generic red tie. His face is reddish-purple. He holds his left hand aloft, and offers a thumbs-up to the press. In the background, a couple of dozen people are standing on the level from which Trump is descending, pressed up against a golden handrail. Some wave at the reality TV star, whilst others snap photos on their phones. A few of these spectators have wandered in off the street; curious to see what’s afoot. Others are being paid $50 to attend. Trump follows his wife, Melania, who is sporting a white dress and a stoic face. He clambers up onto a makeshift stage, positions himself, and begins in the style to which the world will soon become accustomed: 

“Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time. “When did we beat Japan at anything? They send their cars over by the millions, and what do we do? When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo? It doesn’t exist, folks. They beat us all the time. “When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically. 

“The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. “Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. “But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people. 

“It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably... probably... from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop.”

These were the opening remarks from the speech that launched Trump’s campaign for office. He’d started as he meant to go on. Less than two weeks later, when NBC dumped Trump for “Derogatory statements... regarding immigrants,” the future president doubled down, claiming: “We must have strong borders and not let illegal immigrants enter the United States… Public reports routinely state great amounts of crime are being committed by illegal immigrants.” Trump insisted that the solution was a border wall: “I will build a great wall. And nobody builds walls better than me, believe me. And I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall.” 

And Trump took things to the next level, in December of that year – saying he’d implement a “Total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”: “Our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”

Things were pretty dire, for a significant number of Americans... Jobs had been shipped off abroad, wages had stagnated, and living costs were spiralling out of control. The aftermath of the Global Economic Crash had been devastating for everyday folk: Around ten million Americans had lost their homes, nine million had lost their jobs, and over 45 million had been plunged into poverty. (Shallby, 2018). Trump was tapping into this seam of discontent, and offering a deliciously simple answer: It’s the immigrants! They’re the bogeymen. They’re the ones who are pillaging your prosperity. But that malaise hadn’t been caused by immigrants. It was caused by the policies of Ronald Reagan, George Bush Senior, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. They were the ones who’d put corporate profits before the welfare of the American people – cutting regulation, abolishing trade barriers, and reducing union power. (Gerstle, 2022). 

And the Global Economic Crash wasn’t caused by immigrants either. It was the work of unscrupulous investment bankers, the credit agencies that gave triple-A ratings to subprime loans, and successive governments, who’d rolled back the very legislation which was designed to prevent that type of meltdown. Most of the bankers at Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns weren’t immigrants. Most of the politicians who put profit before people, were born and raised in the States. It wasn’t immigrants who closed around seventy thousand American factories, and outsourced five million manufacturing jobs. Those decisions were made by fat cat chief executives. And it wasn’t immigrants who profited from the slash-and-burn approach to managing the economy. It was a tiny cabal of shareholders. (Scott et al, 2022). 

But none of that mattered. In politics, the truth is secondary. Narrative wins the day. If you can pick at people’s discontent, work your audience into a frenzy, say you’ve identified the issue, say you have the solutions, and promise to make life better – then you’ll rack up the votes. Donald Trump did that. Hillary Clinton did not. 

THE FACTS WHICH DISAPPEARED 

But what if Hillary had tried such an approach? What if she had acknowledged the suffering of the American people? What if she’d gone as far as to say that immigration policy was to blame? Imagine the scene, if you will… Clinton and Trump have won their parties’ nominations. Trump’s rhetoric is well-known. But Hillary has been fighting fire with fire--taking an unashamedly pro-immigration stance. Her campaign has been just as controversial as Trump’s...

~~~

Imagine, if you will, that Hillary Clinton had created her own, but exact opposite, of the campaign that was used during the 2016 election. The slogan would be "Immigrants make America Great" and ads, hats and even necklaces that could be hung around a woman's neck would be seen all around. Hillary would forget about trying to out-scream Trump and, instead, she would talk about sisterly support, how she was already working with thousands of women and charitable organizations that were aimed at meeting the needs of the poor and hungry...

Well, we already know that Clinton won the popular vote, especially after Trump's claim that he could grab the genitals of women and they wouldn't care... And all of those women who attended the large protest march at that time, had voted and asked that state representatives for her campaign would work with the electors of states, to ensure that they were singing the same tune that the majority of Americans had been singing... Clinton promises to help Immigrants from across the world, just like the Statue of Liberty guaranteed... She had recited the famous poem, "Give me your tired your poor..." followed by a rallying cry!

And now the banner can be seen – 

red, white and blue – star-spangled, 

with a three-word demand: 

“Open the borders!” The crowd cheers:

Open the borders! 

Make America the Land of the Free!

I had a chance to talk briefly with my mailman yesterday and we got into politics, somehow. He was laughing that Trump had won and would win again in 2024. I pointed out that Clinton had won the 2016 popular vote--that he had won... And I mentioned the Russian hackers... Again he roared in laughter. I asked him, Do you know what report documented those who had been convicted of interfering with the election? He looked at me. I could tell he didn't and mentioned the Mueller report. Again, a blank stare...

How I wish that the Democratic Party had realized or knew about all that we now know! But that is history which we cannot change, even though much of Trump's actions during his presidency has been regurgitated into entirely different statements of republican truth...

BUT, I want to quickly point out that this book has little to do with politics! As I was reading, I again realized that I was to read this book NOW. Because it was purely by a God Incident that I even discovered Joss' email--I had been routinely deleting email from the address I had used as a reviewer who accepted requests for reading books from authors. And, as I read, this song came to me...

Whether you approach the care of our world from a religious or scientific viewpoint, or both, like me, is really irrelevant. It is, frankly, common sense for all of us to be alert to, and be involved in any way we can help to care for Planet Earth, all of its occupants, and the heavens above... So why are republicans unwilling to support a Climate Control program...Again!?

Still, Sheldon is not quite finished with his Introduction of a story that began in 2015... He shares elaborate RHETORIC from rallies from Candidate Clinton... Talking about the fact that all of the creators of the Constitution were Immigrants! Then she moves on to people who came from various countries, such as those now working in health care. Noting that 1.5 Immigrants work in various positions such as doctors--and I immediately thought of my doctor who performed surgery to remove a tumor from my brain, who was an immigrant, perhaps 1st or 2nd generation... But I was thrilled with his caring concern and the success of that life-saving surgery. 

Wouldn't you like to have seen a rousing debate between the two candidates on the same subject, rather than how it did occur?! I sure would have. But, then, again, D. J. Trump would possibly never have been indicted on 91 criminal counts, and gone back to cheating the State of New York in various ways, starting with the creation of a charitable organization which was closed due to how the donated money was being used... With a statement that the Trump family would never be able to open a charitable fund in the future...

This week I will, with permission by the author, be sharing more than usual about this book, simply because it is a very important book...as well as because border problems are now in the forefront of our country. We need to consider our future in America and around the world... We need to realize that Freedom requires Attention and Action!

Joss Sheldon speaks of Free Open Borders! Can we, as President Biden demands of Congress, begin to at least get some type of rational program at our southern border approved and funded! Don't let the republican party continue to use thousands of potential immigrants as pawns in their political grab for power! Freedom Begins With Each of Us!

Tomorrow: Other Worlds Are Possible!