Trump is making America meek, churlish and inhospitable

[Zorro]

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was a refugee. So was Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google; Andy Garcia, the actor; and Vladimir Nabokov, the novelist. So, for that matter, were Jesus, Joseph and Mary, who took refuge in Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath.

Until President Trump took office, no country’s welcome mat rivaled that of the United States, which year after year accepted and resettled more refugees that any other nation, and did so with broad bipartisan support. Accepting refugees has been an expression of American compassion, American global leadership and, not least, American self-interest. Many refugees — ambitious, determined, grateful — have invigorated their communities. And by resettling refugees, Washington has encouraged other countries to do the same, providing a relief valve for conflict zones across the world.

Now, as the Trump administration presses ahead with every means at its disposal to transform the United States into a fortress of exclusion, it has whacked the U.S. refugee program to the lowest level in its four-decade history. In setting a ceiling of 18,000 refugee admissions next year — a 40 percent cut from the current year’s admissions and down from about 85,000 that President Barack Obama admitted shortly before he left office — the administration has turned its back on American tradition, values and preeminence on the world stage.

Far from making America great again, Mr. Trump is making it meek, churlish and inhospitable.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-making-america-meek-churlish-and-inhospitable/2019/09/29/2009fde6-e166-11e9-be96-6adb81821e90_story.html

[Newest Reality]

1. May I add...

That, if you go by projected demographics, this attitude will bit back hard and those policies will have to be reversed simply out of necessity.

The anti-immigration stance is regressive and merely a short-term political device along the lines of scapegoat du jour and divisiveness. Practically speaking, it is completely counter productive.

Birth rates, aging, and other factors are going to fuel a need for more immigrants of many kinds. Of course, being an open, welcoming country is also an important factor as far as our stance and image goes, as well. There are so many benefits to it that factually counter the malignant rhetoric that has been used for manipulative purposes.

But, since when does a poor kind of leadership consider the long-term impacts of knee-jerk, poorly thought out policies?

We have yet another flaw to iron out in our politics and government, and that is the idea of planning and future impact. Our blue wave should really take that into account.