We should accept more refugees not make it harder for them

We already require refugees to go through absurd hoops. We admitted just barely over 12,000 people last year. I say admitted because clearly many Americans do not wish to welcome them. The Syrian war — which partially exists because of our war in Iraq — has caused millions of refugees to leave Syria (plus millions more who have had to move within Syria). Most of the external refugees have gone to neighboring countries and some to Europe.

We have accepted maybe a few tens of thousands of those millions. We are the wealthiest nation that has ever existed in the history of humanity. We consider ourselves the most free country to have existed in all of human history. We believe in the ability of any human being to be and do great things. We believe the accident of your birth should not define the scope of your life.

We have only accepted a few tens of thousands of people from Syria.

I am deeply ambivalent about religion and the possibility of God. But that our President is about to further restrict people fleeing war and death based on little more than bigotry and xenophobia makes me look over my shoulder. That feeling that I — that we — are being watched and judged haunts me.

I am holding back tears that all I can do here is write, to call my Democratic representatives who can do little to change this and give money. There are so many things I can care about that I have to partition them off and ignore them much of the time.

The president is planning wrong today. The congress is going to encourage him to. History will look back at us and judge, even if God may not.