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Arguing on Facebook
So, sometimes when I'm arguing on the book of faces I get a bit passionate. And, well, this happens. For context, the guy I was replying to was first replying with already disproved arguments about helping Syrians, then asked why they weren't just staying in their country and standing their ground. He finished by asking what would America even get out of helping them, aside from "diversity" as if he wasn't sure diversity was even a good thing for us.
I ranted a bit in response:
"How is taking them in going to benefit our society?"
The first response I have is that if all we got from helping people out was increased diversity, that was enough. More stories, more ways to be a part of the world, more viewpoints on what it is to be alive and in society would be reason enough to take them in. Chy and I went to the same college, were in the same main group of friends, but our experiences of the same college and the same people would tell two completely different stories of UE. Both would be true, but if you were deciding on whether you wanted to go there yourself, you'd want more than one story on how the college could be.
And to tie this back in to the original point of the article Chy linked, it is when we believe there is only one way to be American or to be in the world that we run the risk of becoming radicalized and violent. Terrorists of any stripe, world-wide, believe that their way is the only correct way to be in the world and that anyone else who is doing it differently is wrong and is evil and needs to be taken out. The best way to increase our safety is to broaden our stories and exposure to other people who live life differently. Because when we see people who are different from us who are still good and happy and contributing, it is harder to demonize them, to hate them, and to decide to kill them. If diversity were all we got out of helping Syrians, or anyone else, it would be enough.
And if that was not answer enough, then I'll say this. What we get out of helping Syrians, or helping anyone, is the satisfaction of being the people who helped. We get to live up to our ideals, we get to be people who help and contribute to others throughout the world, we get to not be hypocrites who say we believe that everyone deserves the right to live and be safe and happy but then not follow through with it.
You can believe we shouldn't help the Syrians. But from my perspective that choice diminishes America, makes us less than we believe we should be. John Donne got it right when he said, "Every man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Therefore never send for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."
I ranted a bit in response:
"How is taking them in going to benefit our society?"
The first response I have is that if all we got from helping people out was increased diversity, that was enough. More stories, more ways to be a part of the world, more viewpoints on what it is to be alive and in society would be reason enough to take them in. Chy and I went to the same college, were in the same main group of friends, but our experiences of the same college and the same people would tell two completely different stories of UE. Both would be true, but if you were deciding on whether you wanted to go there yourself, you'd want more than one story on how the college could be.
And to tie this back in to the original point of the article Chy linked, it is when we believe there is only one way to be American or to be in the world that we run the risk of becoming radicalized and violent. Terrorists of any stripe, world-wide, believe that their way is the only correct way to be in the world and that anyone else who is doing it differently is wrong and is evil and needs to be taken out. The best way to increase our safety is to broaden our stories and exposure to other people who live life differently. Because when we see people who are different from us who are still good and happy and contributing, it is harder to demonize them, to hate them, and to decide to kill them. If diversity were all we got out of helping Syrians, or anyone else, it would be enough.
And if that was not answer enough, then I'll say this. What we get out of helping Syrians, or helping anyone, is the satisfaction of being the people who helped. We get to live up to our ideals, we get to be people who help and contribute to others throughout the world, we get to not be hypocrites who say we believe that everyone deserves the right to live and be safe and happy but then not follow through with it.
You can believe we shouldn't help the Syrians. But from my perspective that choice diminishes America, makes us less than we believe we should be. John Donne got it right when he said, "Every man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Therefore never send for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."