Oh, border control. It’s the same as that old family chili recipe that everyone disputes but nobody can agree on. Some want the chili to be hotter, others prefer it milder and there’s also that cousin who wants it with chocolate. Like with chili, everyone has a different idea about the secret ingredient to keep our country’s border safe. Browse our campaign platform and initiatives at www.waltonforsenate.com/.

Let’s face the facts for a few seconds. Border security is not about putting up a wall or digging a moat full of alligators. Although I am sure someone has said it. You’re more like the bouncer of the world’s largest, most complicated club. You’ve got a lot to learn about who to let into the club, who to watch out for, and what to do without creating chaos or making guests feel uncomfortable.

Imagine keeping an eye on everyone in a large room, while making sure nobody sneaks through the rear door or climbs into the bathroom. That sounds tough, right? It’s a pretty common problem for countries. They must balance openness with safety, which is like trying nail Jell O on a brick wall.

Advocates of strengthening border security argue it’s vital to keep out bad actors — people who might want cause harm or disrupting the peace. Not necessarily. It’s not like they are wrong. This is where it becomes as tricky as trying to convince your grandma (impossible) that you did indeed have enough food for Thanksgiving dinner.

Some people are worried that focusing on locking down everything could cause us to miss out meeting some amazing folks or having cool experiences. Imagine never having eaten sushi, because you were scared to eat raw fish. If you’ve never tried sushi because of your fear of raw fish, or listened to Kpop because you could not understand the lyrics, what would happen? Sometimes, going outside our comfort zone can lead us to the most wonderful discoveries.

You could compare it to playing Monopoly, but only buying Baltic Avenue instead of Boardwalk because you don’t want to risk it. You might not lose as much money, but neither will you win big. You need people in the country to buy goods, work and create businesses.

Don’t forget those heart-wrenching stories about families seeking a better existence or individuals fleeing zones of danger thicker than the plot in a television drama. These stories remind us of the fact that, at its core this debate involves real human beings–not only numbers on a worksheet or dots in a map.

What do we have left? It’s somewhere in the middle, between “build this wall” or “come one come all.” You’ll need to find your Goldilocks-zone: the perfect temperature, neither too warm nor too cool. It means using technology creatively without becoming Big Brother as George Orwell imagined (or feared). It means laws and policy that are firm yet fair — kind of like Mary Poppins, if she was in charge at Homeland Security.

Conclusion (because all rambling must end), border security can be compared to the debate over whether pineapple is appropriate on pizza. Both are complex and elicit strong emotions. Balance is the key, even if that means tasting a few unusual recipes.