In the wake of the Paris attack, the Syrian refugee crisis has dominated the political discourse. The issue has laid bare the political polarization in the country with both sides making scathing accusations. One side says that banning refugees is heartless and contrary to Christian and American values. The other says that allowing a stream of refugees from Syria puts our families and our country at risk of a terrorist attack.
Personally, my faith and my understanding of American values lead me to believe that we should continue to offer refuge for innocents fleeing terror and war. I also believe that in light of the attacks in Paris and Mali and the specific threats by the Islamic State we need to better understand our government’s screening process and add additional precautions as necessary to ensure the safety of our country. The safety of the American people should not be compromised.
That said, the tenor of the national debate is disturbing. Both sides are demonizing each other when both have sincere concerns. Right now, a solid majority of people doesn’t want to accept Syrian refugees. They aren’t all racists and anti-Muslim bigots. Many are just people concerned about the safety of this country and their families.
On the other hand, the people who believe we should continue to welcome refugees aren’t all liberal do-gooders who would put the country at risk. Instead, they’re people like Republican Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Republican Congressman Steve Russell (R-OK) who understand that carefully screened refugees pose little threat. They know that the Paris attacks were carried out by homegrown terrorists, not refugees, and that their goal is to create an anti-Muslim atmosphere in western countries to drive a wedge between Muslim and non-Muslim communities.
While I respectfully disagree with Attorney General Roy Cooper’s decision to call for a “pause” in accepting refugees, I fully respect his opinion. As an elected official, it’s his job to both address the concerns of the people of the state and to ensure our safety. I have little doubt that he made his decision with those goals in mind.
What I find disturbing, though, is Governor Pat McCrory’s cynical and callous attempt to raise campaign money at the expense of families fleeing unspeakable terror. He should be ashamed of himself. If he’s not, I’m ashamed for him. In exploiting this volatile situation for his own gain, he’s cheapened himself and the Office of the Governor. I hope voters hold him accountable.
It’s time to turn down the rhetoric. We should respect differences of opinions instead of attaching devious intent to perspectives that differ from our own. To defeat the terrorists, we need to show unity, not division, and show our resolve instead of our fear. With stringent screening, we should continue to accept refugees fleeing terror and reject politicians who behave more like war profiteers than leaders.
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Holly Jones
How does this look now, just a few weeks later? Especially as we learned yesterday that one of the San Bernadino shooters, Tashfeen Malik, listed a hometown in Pakistan that DOES NOT EXIST (according to ABC News) on her immigrant visa. Now I certainly understand that an fiancee immigrant visa is not the same as a Syrian refugee visa, BUT she then received her green card, etc with obviously very little vetting taking place. And of course we now learn she pledged support to ISIS at the time of the attack.
What you are going to see is many other Democrat candidates backing away from President Obama on the Syrian refugee question. That is if they want to be elected. After all we are at war, whether we want to admit it or not, and this will not be the last attack. When one occurs with Syrian ties, that will be the final end of this issue – and the end of any politicians who supported Syrian refugee immigration with no pause.
Morris, I am not following your argument. Here’s the pattern: 1) A tragedy occurs of a specific type (some tragedies don’t count, like the thousands of Americans who are killed each year by accidental shootings) 2) The right wing media machine says, “Ha! We can exploit this tragedy for political gain by stirring up irrational l fears” (think Ebola “crisis”) 3) People get scared of the wrong thing (“we need to halt the 18 month vetting of Syrian refugees who are fleeing from our enemy ISIS and by the way watch and report anyone who is Muslim”) and 4) you are saying we should legitimize this irrational fear in order to get elected, rather than provide actual leadership. The Visa waiver program needs to be examined, and US Citizens who engage with ISIS through social media are a legitimate concern, so let’s address that. If we lie down in front of the right wing fear mongers, they will drive right over us. There are lots of historical examples.
I plan on voting for Roy Cooper, but you are being disingenuous stating that he only had our safety in mind by endorsing McCrory’s refugee position. I stand with Obama, Hillary, and Sanders supporting our current refugee program. Cooper was wrong.
Generally I try to respect honest differences of opinion, but in this case I am not on board with a call for a “pause” for two reasons. It is probably true that a majority of Americans oppose admitting Syrian refugees. This opposition is based on a lack of understanding of how the refugee program and screening process works. What Americans actually oppose, with some reason, is the visa waiver program. A true leader would explain the difference and, you know, lead. A second reason most Americans oppose the Syrian refugee program is because, as you point out, of cheap and un-American political exploitation by the right wing. The attempt by the Trumps and McCrorys to raise money based on stoking fear is despicable. Not all who oppose Syrian refugees are xenophobes and racists, but Trump and McCrory give legitimacy to the worst of them to act on their base instincts and attack innocent refugees and citizens they perceive to be “not one of us.” A leader would call them out on this fear-mongering. A weak call for a “pause” is a way of saying that maybe the bigots have a point. A leader stands up for the right thing. I am 100% certain that Mr. Cooper knows that the UN/US refugee screening process taking 18 – 24 months does not leave the door open for ISIS terrorists to enter the US. The fact that he would not use this opportunity to educate North Carolinians is troubling.
Thanks Holly, well said and well thought out. Another argument to be made addresses the legitimate fears people have— to reject refugees could well make us less safe and more subject to terror, by giving the radicals another recruiting tool against the “heartless Americans.” I suspect that is part of the terrorists master plan, to goad us into retreating from our best values, in fear, so they can then capitalize on our retreat.
Ms. Jones charges that Governor McCrory has “…cheapened himself and the Office of the Governor.” Then, in the very next paragraph, she urges us to “…turn down the rhetoric.”
What a great example of blatant hypocrisy.
This is by far one of the most thought through and properly articulated comments concerning terrorism and the Syrian refugee crises. Kudos’ to Holly Jones, who I hope will become our next Lieutenant Governor. I would also like to remind any reader interested that the US. is culpable for this refugee crisis with it ‘s reckless and illegal covert foreign policy of regime change in Syria and its arming of terrorist groups inside Syria to achieve this policy objective, which is contrary to the principles of international law and our own domestic law of material support of terrorism.