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Syrian refugees

A time for calm leadership and compassion, not cowardice

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We can only hope that as Americans gather around the table on Thanksgiving Day this year, that they will take a moment or two to contemplate the genesis of this remarkable holiday. We’re all familiar with the traditional story of the first Thanksgiving, but it’s worth remembering that the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 were refugees, fleeing persecution for their religious beliefs.

And they were thankful, in large part, because the Native Americans who occupied what is now Massachusetts provided them with safe harbor.

How ironic that at a time when Americans reflect on this history, so many of us seem intent on denying safe harbor to the latest flood of refugees, facing persecution from religious fanatics, terrorists, and a tyrannical government in Syria.

We all saw the news reports of the murderous attacks in Paris, and we understandably reacted with shock, anger, and fear over their sheer brutality.

Unfortunately, when we react from fear or anger, we let emotion cloud our better judgment, and we’ve seen that demonstrated in the steady stream of state governors who’ve announced they won’t accept Syrian refugees, simply because one of the attackers may have slipped into Europe posing as one of them.

As frightening as the attacks on Paris were, they pale in comparison to the merciless death and destruction that the Islamic State in Syria, or ISIS, has wreaked on so many in that war-torn nation. While our fear is understandable, Americans should take time this Thanksgiving to summon their better angels and try on a little empathy. We see the Paris attacks and worry it could happen here. Yet the millions now desperately fleeing Syria have witnessed the brutality of ISIS firsthand, and on an almost daily basis. Reality for them is a dozen Paris attacks, every day. Imagine their fear. Imagine their sorrow.

When we hear some of our own politicians talk of “bombing first and asking questions later,” we can only wonder who it is our bombs are supposed to target. Guerrilla-style organizations routinely integrate with civilian populations, and that means our bombing campaigns often only add to the suffering of innocent people. It was only weeks ago, recall, that U.S. bombs destroyed a Syrian hospital run by Doctors Without Borders. We can’t dismiss the fact that the civilian fallout from our bombs adds fuel to the fire for extremists, further contributing to the cycle of violence. We don’t need reactionary vengeance. We need calm leadership.

Unfortunately, we’re not getting that from Republican leaders, who seem all too willing to appeal to our basest emotions, particularly fear. We agree with Gov. Mark Dayton and President Obama in standing up for the principles that this country has long held dear. Refusing to aid refugees out of fear is nothing more than cowardice. Refusing to aid refugees to score cheap political points is even worse.

America has always presented itself as a force for good on the international stage, and as an open and compassionate country that is made stronger by each new generation of immigrants. There is risk in every decision we make, but America has always stood for something, values worth fighting for, values worth living by even when we feel afraid.

And the track record of refugee resettlement in America is exceptionally good. According to the Migration Policy Institute, a D.C. think tank, of the 784,000 refugees who have resettled in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, only three have been arrested for activities linked in any way to terrorism. And two of those were caught trying to leave the country to join jihadist movements overseas.

In the end, America is either going to be a contributing part of the global community, or it’s going to withdraw into xenophobia and parochialism. We’ve already seen too much of the latter. America has stepped up in the past whenever it was needed. It’s time we step up once again and provide the help that Syrian refugees so desperately need.