“The terrorist next door
The bomber went to prom.”
Cassi
Creek: Once upon a time “The New Colossus” spoke for the millions who left the
poverty and residual feudalism of the Balkans and the Caucasus’ Those who were persecuted for their religious
faith had no desire to see that practice carried to a new nation. The fortunate who made the voyage into the 19th
and 20th centuries arrived intending to become Americans, not
hyphenated-Americans.
The ancient genocidal feuds between
Christians and Muslims helped fuel the immigration. It seemed that the hatred was left in the old
world nations that have flickered in and out of existence as the borders and
the dominant powers shifted. With the
beginning of WWI and the end of WWII came another wave of immigrants who were
not as driven by the new opportunity as they were by their displacement after the
wars. They landed here but became
hyphenated.
The domestic spawned terrorists are 1st,
2nd, and 3rd generation immigrants. What brought
their parents and grandparents here is missing.
The realization that religion should not generate wars was never
hammered into their DNA. As a result,
they are easily radicalized by various forms of media that urge them into
religion-driven conflicts. The U.S,
while it protects their rights and freedoms as immigrants and citizens, has
become the modern demon that those who sell hatred can point to as the source
of all evil.
Still, the lamp is still there in New
York Harbor. Emma Lazarus’ words still
ring loudly. The vast majority of those
seeking entry believe in the same golden land that lured many of our
families. It’s the renewed growth of
religious hatred that has rebounded in today’s world we must avoid. There is no more justification in Islamic
jihad than there was in the “kill a commie for Christ” campaigns of the Cold
War. We’ve allowed the old hatreds a new
resurgence. How effectively we can weed
them out will determine the cost in lives.
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