Tue, Apr 2nd, 2024 - 1:00pm
December 09, 2019 - 8:12pm | By Steve Hallstrom
Plato said the famous words “for the unexamined life is not worth living.” So I've tried to take a long and honest look in the mirror as to why I am skeptical on refugee resettlement efforts.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I like diversity in my world. I love the story of my friend Frederick who came here from Liberia. I'm richer for knowing him. I'm the guy who crosses the street to smile and say hi to a black family. It can't be easy with all us pasty white folks here. So why, with North Dakota counties in the national news crosshairs as they make their decisions, am I still hesitant to give a full-throated call for refugees to come into the state by the hundreds each year?
2 things come to mind after some honest soul-searching. First, to my dying day I will believe that President Obama was trying to re-engineer the demographic make up of certain communities. When he set a goal of 10,000 Syrian relocations in 2016 they didn't all go to typical Democrat strongholds https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/30/us/syrian-refugees-in-the-united-states.html like New York or California. A large number went to heartland communities where diversity efforts were put on steroids. Not to mention that Syria was one of the hotbeds for terrorism in the early 2010's and nobody had confidence that vetting was ironclad.
Second, and this is the most current event-ish, Lutheran Social Services is their own worst enemy right now. I saw the Forum's statistic that a federal study showed refugees contribute more to the tax base than they usurp. And that's useful to know, as I hadn't seen it before. I'd like to examine those numbers to find out of they're also including education costs etc, but I don't argue that many refugees become very productive in society after a while. But Dave Piepkorn called for hard data on the costs versus benefits. That was more than 2 years ago and nothing has been produced since.
Really?
Nothing?
Here's the thing. There are many people like me who are center-right who could be won over on this with a little information. You know, statistics and results. No good decision is made on emotion alone but that seems to be the favorite criteria of the far left these days. We all understand many refugees are good hearted folks who want a shot at something better, but you can't help everyone all the time or you'll go broke.
Maybe in this case we wouldn't.
But in the last 2 years, LSS has had opportunity after opportunity to come forward with some real data. Not the joke of a report that Piepkorn rightfully ridiculed about IMMIGRANTS, purported to be findings on refugees. The fact that they haven't gotten serious about compiling some solid info in the last 2 years reminds me of an old saying I first heard in High School, when I handed in a paper late and hoped the teacher would look at it quick in hopes of sneaking in the credit before grades came out.
"Failure to plan on your part does not create an emergency on my part."
LSS, I get that your hair is on fire right now. But honestly....where ya been? A little homework over the last 24 months could have done you some good right about now. Unfortunately we're once again reduced to Democrats curiously in love with the idea of the more the merrier while anyone who sees differently is made to feel like a hateful racist.
Stop me if you've heard the.
Oh, I guess you have.
Yeah me too. One too many times.
