Ever have a left-leaning relative attack you for being a racist, nativist, xenophobe, Islamophobe?  If you haven’t, just give it time.  Our national polarization is only in the second inning.

Concerning the current cause célèbre of the left – President Trump’s temporary ban on immigration from terrorism hotbeds – I thought I’d provide a useful talking point.  It has to do with the left’s maniacal hatred of truth, akin only to vampires’ disdain of sunlight and garlic.

The left loves to play the Christianity/morality card back on us.  In essence, leftists like to use our Good Samaritan tendencies to our own detriment.  We are told by pundits, Democrat politicians, Hollywood, media, etc. that we are unkind, unchristian, and unfeeling if we turn our backs on refugees coming from these Middle Eastern hellholes.  Leftists have always had a strong tendency to be very charitable with your money, but now they’d like to be charitable with your life and the lives of your family.

It is estimated by the left that less than 1% of refugees coming into the U.S. would have direct terrorist involvement.  That seems so small that one is supposed to feel safe and overreacting.  But let’s do some math.  Hillary wanted to increase said immigration by 500,000.  That translates to 5,000 terrorists coming into the U.S. under the radar.  The World Trade Center atrocity was carried out by only seven terrorists.  Ponder what 5,000 would be capable of.  And ponder that one tenth of 1% is 500 terrorists.  Are we supposed to be good with that?

Since the left likes cloaking the argument in Christian moral trappings, let’s address some Moral Philosophy 101 here.  Ask your relative this: is it moral to carry out a good act while in the process committing an immoral act?  Is it moral to be kind to strangers while simultaneously putting one’s neighbors at risk?  One doesn’t do a kindness at the expense of someone else's safety or life.  If they feel that a temporary immigration ban is still immoral, tell them to tell it to the families of the dead in San Bernardino and Orlando.  If they are saying that it is extremely unlikely that a refugee would be a terrorist, tell them to tell that to the family members of the dead in Berlin.  If they feel that we “all” must take some risk to be charitable, tell that to the family of the English soldier who was macheted to death on the streets of London in broad daylight for the crime of being English.

If you are being beaten up with an argument that the U.S. has always welcomed immigrants, then ask: when in U.S. history has there ever been an immigrant group with a significant yet invisible subgroup that would actively work to cause mayhem and death in the U.S.?  Was this true of Poles, Italians, Jews, Irish, Vietnamese, or Chinese?  The answer is definitively “no.”  Should we feel terrible for the innocent who are seeking to flee this horror?  Yes, undoubtedly.  But that does not justify throwing one’s neighbors under the bus.

The left will take great pains to make sure that the resettlements are done in your neighborhood, not theirs.  Don’t look for refugee resettlement in Beverly Hills; Chicago’s Arlington Heights; Greenwich, Connecticut; Philadelphia’s Main Line; or good old Georgetown.

The left delights in muddled thinking, especially muddling your thinking.  Don’t let this occur.  Furthermore, don’t let it occur for your elected officials, either.  Email your congressman.  Email both of your senators.  Write your local newspaper.  Let them know clearly how you stand.  Otherwise, the suicide bombings that are everyday news in Baghdad, Aleppo, Mosul, and Mogadishu will one day be the nightly news in Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Tampa.  You may not reap that harvest, but your children surely will.