Defining American Values

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Joshua 14:8-9

Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9 So Moses swore on that day, saying,'Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.'

NKJV

Joshua was a great leader not because of his own abilities but because he wholly followed the Lord.  Joshua 14:8-9 implies that he valued his relationship with the Lord above being popular.  As I look at the dangerous world in which we live and leaders more interested in their own popularity, I yearn for a Joshua to rise up and lead our nation. 

As a reaction to the brutal terrorist attacks in Paris, many governors in the United States have vowed not to let any of the “refugees” from Syria into their states.  (1)  This reaction is due to the discovery of a Syrian passport on one of the terrorists in Paris.  These governors are demonstrating their desire to protect the citizens they lead from an attack similar to what occurred in Paris. 

Opponents to the decisions of these governors cite that turning away “refugees” somehow goes against the values of the United States.  (2)  Determining whether they are correct or not requires defining the values of United States, so, let us take a moment to determine these values.

The founding documents of the United States, The Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution, outline the values of the nation.  The opening of the Declaration of Independence says the following. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  (3)

This statement in my opinion states the values of the founding of the United States so let us take a closer look at this statement.

1)      The founders believed in the equality of the creation of all mankind and that upon their creation, the creator endowed them with the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  They did not believe government gave people their rights and explains why when they sat down to create the Constitution, they formed a federal government with divided and limited power.  The Constitution also assigned the federal government with the duty of protecting the aforementioned God given rights of the citizens.  (4)

2)      The rights stated here are not, in my opinion, in random order but in order of importance.  The right to life is foundational for if a society lives in fear for their lives, it cannot have liberty to pursue happiness.  In addition, if an oppressive government threatens the liberties of the society, the society cannot pursue happiness. 

Unfortunately, in our pleasure seeking society, people often focus on the pursuit of happiness while ignoring threats to their life and liberties.  This is why we must not, in the pursuit of happiness ignore the threat to life posed by allowing Syrian refugees who may include terrorists into our nation for they represent a real threat to the right to life of citizens.    

President Obama has recently stated that allowing these individuals into the nation is in line with the values of the nation.  (2)   His reasoning is that the United States is a nation of immigrants and should open its arms up to anyone desiring to enter the nation in order to escape oppression in their homelands.  However, before allowing any immigrant into the nation, we must insure they are not a threat to the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of citizens already living in the country. 

We now have discovered that the perpetrators of the horrific attacks in Paris entered the country posing as refugees from Syria.  (5)  In addition, ISIS has stated its intention to enter the United States posing as refugees.  (6)  In addition, the FBI director has stated that it is impossible to vet those entering the United States from Syria due to a lack of information to enter into any database.  (7) 

I therefore conclude that to open up our arms and let these individuals into the United States presents a threat to the lives of U.S. Citizens and as such threatens their liberties and pursuit of happiness.  In other words, to let these individuals into the country is not in line with the values of the United States, but is in violation of these values. 

I urge everyone to contact his or her representative, his or her senators, and the President of the United States expressing your concerns on this issue.  Tell them that they must not allow this issue to become politicized, making it a serious threat to our national security. 

Let us as a nation learn from the French and not allow a slaughter like the one we saw in Paris to happen in a U.S. city. 

1. Byrnes, Jesse. More Than Half of US Governors Oppose Refugee Resettlement. www.thehill.com. [Online] The Hill, November 17, 2015. [Cited: November 19, 2015.] thehill.com/policy/national-security/260388-more-than-half-of-us-governors-oppose-refugee-resettlement.

2. Aljazeera. Obama: Blocking Syrian Refugees Goes Against US Values. www.aljazeera.com. [Online] Aljazeera, November 18, 2015. [Cited: November 19, 2015.] www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/obama-blocking-syrian-refugees-values-151118050322637.html.

3. ushistory.org. The Declaration of Independence. www.ushistory.org. [Online] Ushistory.org. [Cited: July 19, 2015.] www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm.

4. OnPower.org. The Constitution and Bill of Rights. www.onpower.org. [Online] [Cited: September 10, 2013.] http://www.onpower.org/crises_constitution.html.

5. Yahoo. Some Attackers Used Refugee Crisis to Slip into France. news.yahoo.com. [Online] Yahoo. [Cited: November 19, 2015.] news.yahoo.com/attackers-used-refugee-crisis-slip-france-pm-200055808.html.

6. Hohmann, Leo. ISIS Smuggler: 'We Will Use Refugee Crisis to Infiltrate West'. mobile.wnd.com. [Online] WND Front Page, September 4, 2015. [Cited: November 19, 2015.] mobile.wnd.com/2015/09/isis-smuggler-we-will-use-refugee-crisis-to-infiltrate-west/.

7. Datoc, Christian. FBI Director: It's 'Impossible' To Vet Every Single Syrian Refugee (Video). dailycaller.com. [Online] The Daily Caller, November 19, 2015. [Cited: November 19, 2015.] http://dailycaller.com/2015/11/19/fbi-director-its-impossible-to-vet-every-single-syrian-refugee-video/.