The White House announced that one of the few guests invited to sit with the First Lady at the State of the Union speech this week will be a "Syrian refugee". What symbolism! How compassionate!
Okay, what I actually mean is "What utter BS!"
I know nothing about the individual who will sit next to Michelle Obama; my guess is that the White House doesn't know much either. He is not sitting there as an individual. No, he is meant as a symbol that Obama and America "cares" about Syrian refugees. We can be sure that this guy will have been vetted and vetted and re-vetted by the Secret Service and every other federal agency, unlike all those other "refugees" that are arriving daily in the USA.
The sad thing is that Obama could easily have used this event to send a different message. He could have invited a survivor of the San Bernardino terror attack to show the nation's concern with fighting terrorism. He could have invited the widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban. He could have invited a veteran of fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq, particularly one who won the congressional medal of honor. He could have invited one of the whistle blowers who disclosed the phony lists that were used by the VA to keep veterans waiting for healthcare services. He could have invited a family member of one of the victims of ongoing gun violence in Chicago. He could have invited all manner of Americans, but instead he chose a Syrian refugee.
I long for the day when we have a president who understands that actions rather than symbolism is what counts. Just imagine an American president who understands that destroying ISIS is more important than inviting some guy to sit next to the First Lady for a speech.
Okay, what I actually mean is "What utter BS!"
I know nothing about the individual who will sit next to Michelle Obama; my guess is that the White House doesn't know much either. He is not sitting there as an individual. No, he is meant as a symbol that Obama and America "cares" about Syrian refugees. We can be sure that this guy will have been vetted and vetted and re-vetted by the Secret Service and every other federal agency, unlike all those other "refugees" that are arriving daily in the USA.
The sad thing is that Obama could easily have used this event to send a different message. He could have invited a survivor of the San Bernardino terror attack to show the nation's concern with fighting terrorism. He could have invited the widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban. He could have invited a veteran of fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq, particularly one who won the congressional medal of honor. He could have invited one of the whistle blowers who disclosed the phony lists that were used by the VA to keep veterans waiting for healthcare services. He could have invited a family member of one of the victims of ongoing gun violence in Chicago. He could have invited all manner of Americans, but instead he chose a Syrian refugee.
I long for the day when we have a president who understands that actions rather than symbolism is what counts. Just imagine an American president who understands that destroying ISIS is more important than inviting some guy to sit next to the First Lady for a speech.
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