Troubled by refugee rejection

I find the current paranoia toward Syrian refugees to be deeply troubling. It seems that every Republican — and too many Democrats — inveigh us to fear the very process of inclusion that gave rise to our wonderfully diverse nation.

We should remind ourselves that Canada, a country from which we could learn much if we took the time, has accepted 36,300 Syrians with open arms and no ill effect. Germany, has accepted 38,500. The U.S., a country many times larger, has accepted barely over 1,800 and it has been a struggle to find the will for even that small number.

Our attitude strikes me as reminiscent of another historic crisis: our response to Jews seeking asylum from Hitler’s Germany. That fear drove us to view these unfortunate refugees as likely communist or German spies. To our national shame, we actually turned away ships filled with desperate people, many to be killed upon their return to Germany. We then doubled down by relocating actual citizens — our Japanese-American community — out of much the same distasteful paranoia.

It’s time to replace Donald Trump’s invectives with your brain. The current vetting process is tortuously arduous and unimaginable that such a protracted process would be favored over a student visa or tourist passport. But, as we learned with right-wing claim of voter fraud and death panels, fear seems to sell. The public needs to resist buying.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Troubled by refugee rejection."