Originally posted in 2016

In the past our divisive former President mocked those who disagreed with his point of view. Even though a few democrats called for the halting of refugees being allowed into our country, he taunted only the GOP leadership for the same viewpoints.

“Apparently they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America,” Obama said of the GOP. “At first, they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of three year old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.”

I don’t hate Syrians or anyone from the Middle-East. I don’t hate Muslims but knowing that Obama (substitute any leader that plays political games) is in charge of this country puts me on alert, and that isn’t being fearful rather it’s being prudent. The constant use of equivocation and straw-man arguments by progressives like him continually confuses what should be a simple answer to a complex problem. “Should we allow Syrian refugees into our borders?”

Biden, Obama, Clinton, Sanders, AOC and their ilk act as if everyone is a bigot for questioning their sensibilities in wanting to bring Syrian (Mexican’s can be substituted too) refugees into America or into Europe for that matter. Sadly, these incompetent, stubborn, prideful and dangerous politicians see themselves as saviors. That’s called a messiah complex. Clearly they haven’t paid attention to the terrorist attack in Paris by ISIS.

If you change the facts, then you must be accepting of the outcomes. This is based on science and not feelings Mr. Obama. Fact: even the ‘boat people’ of Cuba or Vietnam had their share of miscreants. In fact, Fidel Castro opened up his prisons and allowed many Cuban criminals, in the form of rapists, pedophiles, and murderers, to come to our beaches. The constant false comparison of one person to another, one event to another, or one need to another, as if they are all the same undermines real discussion and real solutions to difficult problems. Yes, many refugees are good people and not everyone is a member of ISIS. Think about it, the President has armed security 24/7 but the average American doesn’t have that kind of security when they go to the mall, play, school or a stadium.

The problem of having refugees because of war is as old as the hills. Go back far and deep into world history to the ancient Peloponnesian war where political questioning, tragedy and the storyteller Euripides reside. Euripides wrote the play, Children of Herakles. The play begins at the altar of Zeus. In this story the Athenian King Demophon decides to give asylum to the fleeing children of Heracles because they are persecuted by the Argives in the Peloponnese. Demophon, whom represents the voice of his people puts their security at risk to protect the refugees, because in doing so he ensures that Athens will have civil war.

In another ancient story Oedipus is given sanctuary by the Athenians in Sophocles’ drama. Yet, Oedipus murdered his father and married his mother. The actions of the blind king were sure to bring divine anger of the gods upon the nation.

In another tale, Euripides’s Media presents herself as a refugee to an Athenian king, and he vows to protect her from the Corinthians. However, by giving her protection, he has given her the ability to murder her own children.

The creators of these plays presented a quandary for the viewer. The story of Heracles questioned what might happen to a country that did the right thing; when the Athenians find out they must sacrifice a child to fulfill a prophecy that’s when things go sideways. The limits of their kindness is tested. Medea wants the viewer to explore how a nation’s kindness can be abused and the difficulties in assessing which claims to asylum are genuine. These ancient plays do not question whether it is morally right to protect these children, rather it explores the cost of doing so and there is an expectation that a solution is arrived at rationally. We don’t need the weak sophistry of an angry president to solve the matter.

Even ancient Rome had expectations when she took in high-status refugees. Rome’s diplomatic strategy relied on the idea of pay-back. If an usurped king or leader returned to power, under the aegis of Rome, the reconstituted leader(s) would practice pro-Roman policies.

Generally, there were three options when two or more cultures clashed: Isolation, Integration, or Destruction. The host nation or a conquering nation more or less would leave the losing ‘team’ alone, it could destroy it or it would ask the culture to integrate it into their own Roman culture.

Vercingetorix, chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who united the Gauls in a revolt against Roman forces quickly learned the meaning of the phrase “Ad Victorum Ire Spolia” or “to the victor goes the spoils’’ after his loss to Caesar. Caesar was able to dictate the terms and it ended very badly for Vercingetorix. He was imprisoned for years, then paraded before his tribe and summarily executed.

The process by which a person or a group’s language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group is known as cultural assimilation. A quick or gradual change might occur depending on circumstances of the group. Sometimes the change never occurs. We saw this earlier when British Muslims laughed in the streets while mocking Lee Rigby’s murder. Many ISIS supporters benefit by living in England, yet travel to Syria to fight, and then laugh at how easy it is to come back and live as an Englishman. Nearly 50,000 Europeans have travelled to the Middle-East to support ISIS. This week one refugee to France was proved to be an ISIS terrorist. How many should we allow into America?

Fast forward to the future. We are a just nation. We don’t deal in a scorched earth policies and demand unrealistic tributes of women and slaves as Rome once did, but it is clear to anyone WITH A BRAIN that any host nation dictates the rules and those who are coming into our borders should not. In the French Foreign Legion, out of the thousands of members who come from over 142 countries to enlist, none of them think for a moment they will be anything other than a Frenchman. For a 5 1/2 year contract they get a chance at citizenship because they know the country they came from lacks opportunity.

There are already reports of refugees coming into the West who are complaining about the accommodations; they don’t like the food, the housing, the slow internet or the fact the government isn’t giving them money for cigarettes. Many do not want to accept the West’s way of life yet a grateful person would accept that going home is worse than the way forward.

Tourists all over the world enjoy travelling through different communities. I still have some very fond memories as a child wandering through China town or Little Saigon in my home state. Many cities here have Japan town, India town, the French Quarter and the list goes on. Part of this is what makes America great.

Certainly there are communities in America that are all Latino, Black, Asian or White but let’s be clear, any culture that refuses to integrate does nothing for this country. Where we run into a problem as a nation is when a community humiliates or intimidates others based on their: race, religion, national origin and more…

The Hmong people, particularly young men, found integration particularly difficult during the 1970’s after the fall of Saigon. Clint Eastwood cleverly covered this in his well-made movie called El Torino. As a Amerasian man I related to it on many levels and I have to tell you, I laughed a lot during the movie. Those who get it into trouble in their new home are the ones who refuse to integrate. They belong to communities that are breeding grounds for terrorism.

I am not stating that a culture needs to do complete integration because that would make us void of personality.  Of this great, and generous nation, I am simply stating this:

• The host nation dictates the terms of which the refugee must follow; not the other way around. Rome was not wrong in wanting pro-Roman policies. Find another playground to play in.
• The host nation has little expectation from the refugee it grants asylum to. However, the host nation in return for its generosity, simply expects the refugee make an attempt to integrate with others, become a productive citizen, and have no anti-American policies.  Play nice people.
• The host nation requires the refugees to allow the nation to separate the good to be separated from the bad, just like grain from the chaff. Obama stating that those who question his strategy are bigots is simply obnoxious and puerile. More is expected of someone who is supposed to act presidential and more is asked of the refugees than to simply take and not give back.
• The host nation hopes the refugees are appreciative and understand that freedom requires sacrifice. We’re not asking to sacrifice babies to the gods. We are asking that people work hard, and put back into the system, rather than whining all the time. Many refugees have become productive American citizens.
• The host nation hopes those it opens its arms to will actually defend their new way of life. This doesn’t mean they must serve in the military, but creating huge communities of Muslim communities that can be breeding grounds for terror is a no-no.
• The host nation asks for patience. Not only do we have to deal with finding a humane way to handle the refugee matter, we have to deal with divisive, career politicians that make integration more difficult.
• The host nation has a right to refuse entry to refugees based on many logical reasons.

The migrant crisis currently threatens America’s national security and immigration policies and was caused by a President that lead from behind. Russia and France are setting the pace and moving ahead on dealing with ISIS. For an idealistic man who believes in progressive social and political policies, he sure didn’t figure out what even the ancients knew-“Stultus est stultus facit” or Stupid is as stupid does. It’s time we stop allowing this kind of leadership to weaken our nation.

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