Right vs. Wrong

Proposals to ban all Syrian refugees from the USA are calls for an abundance of caution.  They assume we cannot screen for terrorists adequately because there may be some uncertainty.  Marco Rubio presented the argument.  He said allowing 10,000 refugees into our country would be wrong because admitting one bad one represents a greater harm than the good of providing refuge to 9,999 others.  But that is backwards.  He really said that helping 9,999 people is not as important as being certain that there will not be one bad guy in the bunch.  That is simply not true. 

We should take controlled and reasonable risks.  Unless we are willing to do so, we must admit to being ruled by the politics of fear.  And the politics of fear never brings out the best of us.  It has put Japanese-American citizens in internment camps, executed innocent people through aggressive prosecution and prevented law-abiding citizens from boarding airplanes.

The politics of fear preys on our fears and breeds cowardice.  It is wrong.  This is a time for courage, not cowardice.  We must reject the politics of fear simply because it is the right thing to do.