To the Editor:

I am writing after a long hiatus to reflect upon Clinton’s Folly as it relates to current times, and, no, I am not talking about the emails. Governor DeWitt-Clinton had a solid vision and through persistence saw the completion of the Erie Canal.

This is a prime example of an administrative endeavor that created long-lasting economic impact. Literally, the canal system carried New York State out of one century, and its waters continue our journey toward the 22nd Century.

We could look to Thomas E. Dewey and the highway system he fought for, but instead let’s look to another New Yorker and his quest, President Donald Trump and his wall. For many, this wall is a folly too, but for me as a student of history, the wall requires a much deeper look.

Border walls are only effective when they are used in conjunction with razor wire and soldiers in gun-towers there to defend it. Unless this is the route that our nation is taking, then the wall will be little more than a paper tiger or a scarecrow that the birds always figure out how to undermine.

Honestly, I don’t like this border wall idea nor do I support illegal entry into our country. Let me make this clear before any feathers get ruffled and dander gets up.

What sets the wall apart from Clinton’s Ditch or Dewey’s highways is that the wall has limited potential for economic benefits beyond those companies contracted to build it and those ancillary organizations that support construction. Upon completion, the boon becomes a bust.

Again, back to the deeper look, the wall skirmish has shown the world  how our mighty nation is coming slowly to a snail’s crawl as our politicians dig in around the wall issue. At this point, our detractors and our enemies could not be happier.

Second and even more concerning is that vital services are not occurring at optimal efficiency such as border defense, food inspection, air-transportation systems — and the list goes on. This ever-widening gap in service provision is putting our nation in greater jeopardy than that which this wall is supposed to protect us from.

While the bureaucrats in D.C. throw stones at each other, American workers from both sides of the aisle, Democrat and Republican alike, are stuck in limbo. They are not getting paid, can’t provide for their families, are going into debt, and are watching helplessly as their livelihood and lives are slowly slipping away.

I come from a long line of soldiers and I am fairly certain that this is not the America they fought and watched their friends die for.

Frankly, I don’t have a solution to this decades-old issue nor was I elected to an office to find one. I think that, while we wait for those “experts” to find a common ground, we have to recognize that we have friends, neighbors, and countrymen in need.

So, let’s lift up by any means necessary those who currently being let down by our leaders. That, my friend, is the American way.

Aaron Harrell

Guilderland