Donald Trump: "The refugees are going back, we can't have them"

Via Young Conservatives

 I pay attention to coincidences that occur from time to time in my daily life. Lately, they've been rather startling. Here's what I mean: I'd been reading David Guterman's novel, Snow Falling on Cedars,  just as the controversy over Syrian refugees entering our country erupted. As you may recall, Guterman's tale reveals the bigotry and cruelty involved in the treatment of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

So I was thinking of the plight of immigrants who seek a new home in the U.S. when I kept my appointment the other day with a cardiologist whom I'd not met previously. I waited only a few minutes in the examining room before he knocked on the door and at my invitation came in. Based on his last name, I was not surprised that he appeared to be Asian. I noted the moment of hesitation in his demeanor before I welcomed him with a smile. His shoulders relaxed as he smiled in return and extended his hand to me.

He got down to business immediately and addressed the state of my health with kindness and unmistakable expertise.

From a very early age, I've been interested in those whose backgrounds were different from mine and soon, my cardiologist and I were engaged in conversation in which he shared his impressive credentials and experience in his field. I mentioned that I was reading Snow Falling on Cedars and asked if he had experienced discrimination in pursuing his practice as a physician in the U.S. He recalled only one instance; on that occasion, his patient uttered these words: "I don't want you for my doctor; I want an American."

The anecdote had a happy ending; the patient later offered an apology in which he admitted, "I had no right to say that to you." My doctor then assured me that he loved his current work setting where he enjoys respect, acceptance, and friendship with his colleagues.

Unlike the patient mentioned above, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will likely never apologize for his defamation of all Syrian refugees in the aftermath of the Paris killings. At a rally recently, Trump demanded a database registering all Syrian refugees, and he added, "“I want surveillance of certain mosques, O.K.?”

 As others before me have pointed out, the rejection and mistreatment of those who are different from us is rooted primarily in fear. However, Donald Trump is a different case - he's fueling fear and loathing in his campaign speeches for purely self-serving reasons - he wants the votes of his blind followers. We can only hope those who are cheering Trump on today will open their eyes in time to see their idol for what he is, a cruel, bigoted man saying whatever it takes to exploit them for his own purposes.

Think about it - the president of our country is beholden to all of our people, not just those who are like him or her: can you even imagine what a divisive, hate-filled Trump presidency would be like?