THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

THE MAN WHO STAYED FOR DINNER | 2007-04-14

One thing I am thoroughly sick of seeing on television is the guy who says, "Well, I was an immigrant," or "My grandparents were immigrants," "so I support immigration."

What if you invited someone to stay at your house, and he said to you, "Well, since you invited me to visit, I must insist that you invite EVERYBODY to stay here." Would you be glad you invited him? Would you consider him SANE?

"The Man Who Came to Dinner" is a comedy about an Englishman who was invited to dinner and simply STAYED. He became a PERMANENT RESIDENT in the private home simply because he had been invited to eat there once.

Being English, the story says, the homeowner could not bring himself to say, in plain language, "GET OUT!"

Does this story sound familiar when it comes to immigration?