Months ago, we witnessed an attack in Paris. We shared our #PrayersForParis and watched the political candidates share their views on the terrorists who were responsible. This past week, we witnessed an attack in Brussels and ISIS claimed responsibility. How was it handled? What were the comments? What are the political candidates proposing for the situation?
Donald Trump stated, “This all happened because frankly there is no assimilation.” As crazy as this is about to sound, we agree with him. The United States is known for its many values, including opening its arms to those who are yearning for the American dream.
As stated in the famous poem by Emma Lazarus at the Statue of Liberty:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
America opened its arms to those through Ellis Island. We take pride in being a nation of immigrants. But now, many political candidates are calling for a ban of Muslims. Muslims are being regarded with suspicion. The idea of welcoming them into our country is epulsive to candidates Trump and Ted Cruz. In fact, they are trying to win votes by banning Muslims.
Many believe that Muslims are not willing to adapt to the American culture. Pew Research conducted a poll in 2011 that showed results of only 20 percent of American Muslims would prefer to “be distinct” than to “adopt American customs.” If Trump stated that the reason that there were problems in Belgium was because Muslims do not feel welcomed there, then why does he want an immediate ban of all Muslims from entering our country? It just does not make sense.
The day of the Brussels attacks, Ted Cruz stated, “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods.” Demonizing Muslims does not seem like the proper way to handle a situation such as this one, but that’s just our opinion.
According to theatlantic.com, many European countries do a poor job of welcoming their Muslim immigrants, which is exactly why these attacks are taking place. This hatred of Muslims is reminiscent of how we rounded up Japanese Americans in the 1940s and treated them as second class. This is something that we are ashamed of that now, so why repeat those shameful acts again?
How are we going to handle the situation and more importantly, what will happen next?
