In response to the November 13 attacks on Paris that claimed the lives of at least 129 people, several United States governors have said they would refuse to admit Syrian refugees. On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved a bill that requires Syrian refugees to pass rigorous backround checks.
Amidst this growing anti-Syrian sentiment, Phil Klay, author of "Redeployment" and veteran of the US Marine Corps posted a moving series of tweets explaining why the United States should be opening its doors, not closing them.
From Klay's Twitter:
1. Tremendously upset by attempt to effectively close our borders to Syrian refugees by imposing impossible-to-implement screening standards
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
2. When I swore my oath of office as a Marine officer, I swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
3. The Marine hymn claims that Marines are the “first to fight for right and freedom and to keep our honor clean.”
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
4. You’re not supposed to risk your life just for the physical safety of American citizens
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
5. You’re supposed to risk your life for American ideals as well.
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
6. This shouldn't be a left-right issue. Ronald Reagan, who believed that America was the exceptional nation,
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
7. the “Shining City on a Hill,” asked himself during his farewell address from the Oval Office how that Shining City fared, answering:
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
8. "After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
9. “And she's still a beacon; still a magnet for all who must have freedom,
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
10. “for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness toward home."
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
11. Millions of pilgrims are hurtling through the darkness, but it’s Germany that has recently been the beacon standing strong and true,
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
12. welcoming them home, not America.
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
13. If we want to be the kind of nation that others will follow,
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
14. the kind of nation capable of forging strong links in the Muslim world against extremism,
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
15. then we have to behave like that kind of nation. I get that people are scared.
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
16. But it's only during frightening times when you get to find out if your country really deserves to call itself the 'home of the brave.'
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
17. Worth noting that @theIRC does excellent work for refugees, and always appreciates donations. https://t.co/APsnTDe5s7
— Phil Klay (@PhilKlay) November 19, 2015
Well @PhilKlay just made me burst into tears in 16 tweets. https://t.co/lN5BU7SLOQ
— Rachel Fershleiser (@RachelFersh) November 19, 2015Join the conversation about this story »
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