In the wake of the Paris tragedy, Americans are being treated to a heavy dose of fear and phobia about anyone who is not the same color or ethnic origin as the Republican Party primary candidates.
Trying to piggyback on the public’s angst everyone from Jeb Bush to Ted Cruz has a solution that would make America into an isolationist’s dream.
There aren’t too many people around these days who can recall the attacks on Jews in the 1930s and a variety of other ethnic groups over the years.
Every time there was a scandal or happening involving people with strange names or different colors, a group would emerge calling for an end to immigration and the building of an imaginary wall between America and the rest of the world.
On top of branding people “terrorists,” the would be presidents have a lot of other simple solutions for us to take.
Jeb Bush wants us to immediately put American soldiers on the ground in Syria.
He also favors a no-fly zone in that country. When he is asked whether that means America should shoot down Russian airplanes he fumbles for an answer.
He is joined by all the other hawks who are ready to send us into war in a heartbeat.
His brother, the former president never went to Andrews Air Force base to meet with grieving families when the bodies of soldiers were being returned so it must be genetic.
Donald Trump, who has a solution for everything, has an idea that maybe we should start closing down some “bad” mosques as a way to curb terrorism. He has yet to outline what constitutes a “bad” mosque, but that doesn’t matter.
Once he treats the right wing to a dose of red meat, Trump can then walk away and plan his next idea which is like throwing more verbal kerosene on the fire.
In the days following the Paris massacre, our country has heard a boatload of ideas on how to cut us off from the rest of the world.
There is no doubt that we need to find better ways to keep troublemakers out of this country by more screening on top of the screening that is currently done.
But to go to bed at night believing that if we close our borders there will be no new tragedies, is a delusional idea.
Back in 1988, the late Sen. Pat Moynihan told the Congress that the greatest challenge we will face in the years ahead will be how to control terrorist activities.
Moynihan, during his travels saw that the leaders of the poorest countries were blaming all their ills on America. That is a proven way to avoid being blamed for poverty, disease and illiteracy.
President Bill Clinton, speaking before a group of Long Island business leaders a few years ago, warned that moneys that were supposed to go to health and education of Middle Eastern inhabitants, were lining the pockets of the generals.
In the absence of public schools to educate the children, religious groups were opening up their own schools all of which were breeding grounds for hatred of our country.
All of the warning signs about bad people doing bad things have been out there for years.
There is no doubt the federal government is doing all it can’t to prevent another catastrophe on our shores, but there is no way to stop trouble, even if you keep half the world from coming here.
And the ugly campaign rants of a group of primary candidates is not going to make us safer nor help our image as the leader of the free world.
This country needs to take a time out to figure out what really makes us safe and at the same time condemn the ugly rhetoric that is being thrown around by people who will never have the opportunity to sit in the White House, unless they take the morning tour.
