Open letter to America the Brave:
Ye gods I'm tired. I'm tired of people arguing about one group of people being more important than others. Of "our own" vs. "them." Are you a being? Yes? Okay, then you're one of mine.
Human being comes before nation, religion, race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, political leanings, musical taste, or which side of the stadium you cheer from on game day. Erase the arbitrary and the abstract and you have human beings in need of help. And here we are, able to give it. Why wouldn't we? Because some people from that country might want to kill some of our citizens? There are people already here, who were born here, who want the same.
If the problem is that you don't believe there isn't enough to go around, please consider that the U.S. discards an enormous amount of the food it produces; that it spends hundreds of times on "defense" as what would be required to give every person within its borders (homeless, veteran, professor, doctor, or retail wizard) a living wage, provide housing, education and healthcare; that religious freedom goes for everyone, not just the people who agree with you. There's enough for 360 million people to help out ten, twenty or fifty thousand and then some.
Now, if the problem is really xenophobia, might I suggest you consider that the U.S. is country made of immigrants (some by choice, some not), refugees and indigenous people who were forced into becoming refugees in their own homeland. There was never a time the American flag flew that it wasn't. There was never a time that people didn't complain about the neighbor being from another country/race/religion.
Please, please, stop letting things (especially a few outraged voices in the media spreading their hysteria) divide us. It is not likely to personally affect you besides maybe another person you see at Wal-mart. All right?
Stop letting fear keep you from looking into the eyes in a face in need. You'll only see yourself looking back.
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