In the opinion column in the September 1, 2016 issue of the Daily Mississippian, what the columnist fails to see is that in addition to ISIS, the Syrian refugees also are being bombed by the Syrian Government, the Russians, accidentally us, and now Turkey. I doubt that the women and children who are being killed or maimed care who is doing it, they just want to be somewhere else when the bombs are falling.
The columnist would deny them that choice, using arguments similar to those of the “America First” movement from 75 years ago. At that time, under the excuse that they might be Nazi spies or, worse yet Communists, they did their best to keep out those “Dirty Jews”, to the point where a “Good Old Boy” in the State Department, by the name of Breckinridge Long, who decided to delay the granting of visas, thus preventing over 100,000 people from escaping the Nazi atrocities.
The columnist then uses the typical method of blaming a group for the bad deeds of a few drunken members. By this argument we should shut down all the Fraternities, Pro and College sports teams, ban students from Georgia, etc. Perhaps those who committed the assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve thought it was Derby Day.
If the columnist wants to avoid risks so much then the columnist should avoid High schools in Columbine or Pearl, Movie theaters in Colorado, Towers at the University of Texas, grade schools in Sandy Hook or Stockton, or Federal buildings in Oklahoma City. As we pass the 15th anniversary of September 11th the columnist should remember that all the hijackers entered the US through normal channels so the columnist’s xenophobic arguments would not help.
The columnist should read the poem on the Statue of Liberty and try practicing some “Christian Charity” and help these war refugees. Even if the columnist considers them enemies, the columnist should remember “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
David Sanders is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy
