... in the heat of the moment, and may have said some things that I regret regarding the settlement of Syrian refugees in the US. I am not against granting political asylum to people who are being bombed out of their own homes by people who have perverted a religion to their own vision of settling the Crusades once and for all. If we were a Nation where no citizens were homeless, or hungry, or lacking in any of the necessities of life, I'd be the first person in line to welcome them to my country. If we didn't have thousands of my brother and sister veterans being denied the medical care that was promised them in their enlistment contracts, I would help lay down the red carpet. The fact is, that neither of these things have been done, and have gotten worse under an administration that views it's military with disdain, and would rather give tax money to people who cross the border illegally (yeah, I said it) than make good on it's promises to those who sacrificed to serve the Nation.
Charity Begins at Home. I once saw these words, embroidered and framed, in the hallway of a friend's home, many years ago. We could, probably, argue for hours over what that means, but it's certainly apt for America today. We pay taxpayer dollars, millions of them, to people and organizations that hate us. Why? We make critical deals with a theocracy that despises the West and says, straight out, that they have no intention of honoring any deal with the infidels, and then we release hundreds of millions of dollars in seized assets so they can further their goal of developing a nuclear weapon. Is it just me, or is there a major league-sized idiocy going on?
The "good" news is that the illegal's from Mexico are going home (anchor babies and all) faster than they are coming into the country, according to the Associated Press. According to their story, more than a million people crossed back into Mexico from 2009 - 2014, while some 870,000 illegals came in over the same period. Net flow back to Mexico was 140,000, citing the poor economy, tightening of border enforcement, and a desire to reunite families as the primary reasons. Personally, I think it may have been, at least partially, caused by a change in the National consensus, more people seeing illegals as "a problem," rather than as a people.
The "bad" news is we still have an extremely porous Southern border. There will be a number of jihadists among the Syrian refugees trying to come to the US, and the Government might actually screw up and catch a couple of them, even a blind squirrel... I fear the ones that would come across the Southern border more. If the screening process for the Syrians is any good, a person might get through, but a jihadist could come across the Southern border along with some chemical/biological agents that could kill millions.
No, I am not against immigrants. I have them in my family, people who came from Ireland and Scotland to try to make a living in America. They came through Ellis Island, and withstood all of the degradation associated with that, and came in legally. If the screening process of Syrians is anything like that, I'd probably feel a lot better about them. I oppose no one based upon their religious beliefs. I have known and associated with people from around the globe, and somehow that subject just doesn't come up that often.
I was lucky, and had my first "foreign" experience before I was 21. I was out on my own, for the first time, really, in countries who's only restriction on drinking was an ability to put money on the counter. NOT being a member of any church, at the time, I gave in to the idea of drinking "to make up for the times we couldn't" (supposedly while we were out at sea). To be honest, more than one bunk had a small bar in it, a couple of bottles, or so. We had a guy take the guts out of a photo processing machine, and turn it into a source of heat and security for a home wine making kit. The new processors were installed several months prior to our deployment during an overhaul, and the Photographer's Mate in charge recognized it's potential right away. The result was that we left Norfolk with 10 gallons of homemade wine, fermented with a little heat, that was very, very strong. Those who were "in" on the scam could get half of one coffee cup full each day, when their shift was over, and not before. The reason for that was, it was so strong, you were better off waiting until you got into your bunk before drinking it. A "shot" is one ounce. Half of a coffee cup is four ounces. Drinkers, imagine what effect four ounces of "Jack," or some other such liquor. It was the same with four ounces of the "Photo Finish," as we came to name it. Drink it within a few minutes, and your BAC would go to .2 or better. Night-night!
My second cruise was much better. PACE (Program for Afloat College Education) had a teacher on board for the entire six months who was a linguist, and spoke more than a dozen different languages. He was treated as an "officer," and given a private stateroom to hang out in when he wasn't teaching (or hiding out during drills). Whenever we would go into a new port, I would ask him to give me a phonetic breakdown of three basic things: "Hello, my name is Steven." "I do not speak [language]." "Could you take me to someone who speaks English." Funny, even the guy who, ten seconds before "spoke no Englee," suddenly develops an amazing capacity for the language. It seemed as though, if I took the time to learn some phrases, and speak them in a polished manner, the people appreciated the time I put in to learn them, and be most helpful. It was a much better deployment during which I met a bunch of really nice people, including a group of Russian Sailors we met on a trip to the Black Sea side of Turkey. I have the utmost respect for all people, their customs, and their traditions.
Hate is the result of Fear. Fear is the result of ignorance. We fear what we do not know. As I got to know people abroad, I became less afraid, and strangers (for the moment) became good friends. A cab driver we met on our first trip into Athens, came and looked for us at the landing whenever INDY was in the bay (Piraeus Bay in Athens). He took us everywhere, and we'd pay him $20 apiece for the whole day, as there were three of us, he fared quite well in 1973 dollars and drachmas, and invited us into his home to meet his family. The three of us spent our next two paychecks getting stuff from the Exchange for his wife and kids for Christmas. On our last free night before leaving the Eastern Mediterranean, they brought us over for dinner, and hugged us, thanking us for our generosities, we took pictures with them (rather they took pictures of us), and we all had a good cry before we left. I never saw them again, but they are etched in my heart forever.
Now you know why I call this a "Ramble".
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