Throughout history the establishment of a democracy has often been a goal of a nation’s citizens. Unfortunately, when restrained by the grip of tyranny the resulting fight for such a cause is often met with the bloodshed of innocent people. The birth of America, even, was done so by taking up arms against tyrannical and unfair rulers. History seems to always repeat itself. In March 2011, pro-democracy protests broke out in Syria demanding the resignation of its nation’s abusive president al-Assad. In face of the threat to al-Assad’s power he began crushing his opposition, opening fire on his own citizens. This struggle for a just, democratic nation has dragged on and continues to do so to this day. Not only has there been an immense loss of
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Rejecting these people in a country such as our own would be extremely hypocritical. Historically, America has always served as a beacon of stability and hope for people seeking refuge from their unstable and/or undesirable homeland. As a nation, we must determine what values we truly stand for. Will we turn to xenophobic principles and exile people who are striving for the same principles America is supposedly attempting to uphold on an international level? If so, we will only hinder our own efforts in minimalizing the tyranny and violence which persists throughout many places in the world. It is crucial that we take a step back analyze what exactly it is we hold as virtues in a country which should be a paradigm for democracy and compassion. Take for example the words of Emma Lazarus which exemplify this ideology in her poem “The New Colossus” which are inscribed on perhaps our nation’s most recognizable symbol: 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-tossed to me: /I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” If we wish to stand by our principles that we founded our nation on, we must help the Syrian people. Their homes have been destroyed by the very force we hope to expel from the world. We should respond with extreme sympathy when observing exactly how much destruction and tribulations these people have experienced as conveyed in the photographs displaying this drastic shift in lifestyle, environment, and thus culture. These people are lost in the world viewed only as possible threats and burdens to the world rather than what they truly are: human beings in
Rejecting these people in a country such as our own would be extremely hypocritical. Historically, America has always served as a beacon of stability and hope for people seeking refuge from their unstable and/or undesirable homeland. As a nation, we must determine what values we truly stand for. Will we turn to xenophobic principles and exile people who are striving for the same principles America is supposedly attempting to uphold on an international level? If so, we will only hinder our own efforts in minimalizing the tyranny and violence which persists throughout many places in the world. It is crucial that we take a step back analyze what exactly it is we hold as virtues in a country which should be a paradigm for democracy and compassion. Take for example the words of Emma Lazarus which exemplify this ideology in her poem “The New Colossus” which are inscribed on perhaps our nation’s most recognizable symbol: 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-tossed to me: /I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” If we wish to stand by our principles that we founded our nation on, we must help the Syrian people. Their homes have been destroyed by the very force we hope to expel from the world. We should respond with extreme sympathy when observing exactly how much destruction and tribulations these people have experienced as conveyed in the photographs displaying this drastic shift in lifestyle, environment, and thus culture. These people are lost in the world viewed only as possible threats and burdens to the world rather than what they truly are: human beings in