Leaning on that wall

I enjoyed the op-ed piece by Michael Schuman (Bloomberg) on Monday’s editorial page on the Great Wall of China. The overall failure of the China wall forecasts doom for Mr. Trump’s hopeless, hapless yearning for his own great Wonder of the World. I admit, though, that he does have the world wondering.

A Great Wall of America? No way. But yes, the existing fences and barriers, in high-density areas with border communities on either side, have proven effective: let’s expand and reinforce those areas. For the largely lonely stretches of semidesert, how about this: build a chain of surveillance towers, hardened to military specifications, powered by solar panels, with state-of-the-art cameras and communications equipment, linked (wirelessly, of course) to a shore-based fleet of military grade all-terrain vehicles, helicopters, and high-flying spy planes. We could organize this fleet as a branch of the Coast Guard with close cooperation and coordination with all other border security agencies as they pursue their often-divergent missions. I would be perfectly willing to commit $5 billion over, say, five years, to conduct a study, develop a plan, grant contracts, and provide this country with an excellent border security system—with entry and exit supervision and monitoring and with drug and other contraband interdiction.

Perhaps (dare we ask?) Congress could find bipartisan pride in flying the banner (remember “George Dubya”?) “Mission Accomplished.” Maybe in the glow of that, we could get a law passed that demands that with every government shutdown, all employees in the Congress and in the White House forfeit all compensation, and even … aw, forget it. This Old Republican just got carried away celebrating Martin Luther King Day—for I, too, have a dream.

CLIFF HARRISON Hot Springs Village