‘A war zone, minus the war’

How do you define the concept of “security”? What does it look like?

This question is the theme of today’s top story, about what the border looks like one year after increased security measures were deployed to contain a “crisis” of supposed military-grade proportions.

But there was no security crisis, and there remains none. Instead, what we have at the U.S.-Mexico border is “a war zone minus the war,” as our featured story — a collaboration between our partners The Border Chronicle and The War Horse — describes.

While much of the country has all but forgotten about the “national emergency at the southern border,” we sure haven’t. Reminders of the unprecedented military response to Trump’s has quietly continued in tandem with DHS, every single day.

But does that mean the border is more secure? This requires a close look at the concept of “security” and its meaning. In today’s world, “security” might mean the opposite of armed and masked military members patrolling a concertina wire-topped wall.

It might, instead, look like food on every table, or enough clean water for everybody. It might look like a happy family without any immediate concerns or looming fears for the future, or a resilient economy, or a society that makes room for games.

It might look like a wall without concertina wire.

Or it might look like no wall at all.

Thoughts? Opinions? Let us know what you think by emailing news@timesofsandiego.com.