Ej Dionne: O'Malley on the Syrian refugee crisis

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/helping-others-is-what-we-do/2015/09/13/9e779eb4-58bb-11e5-abe9-27d53f250b11_story.html




So why should we take in refugees? Simply because it is the right thing to do, because it’s in keeping with who we say we are, and because we remain collectively a wealthy nation and can afford it. Pride in our moral claims is not limited to any economic class. In fact, the least advantaged are often the most generous.We should do it because we have always regretted leaving people in grave danger instead of taking them in. We should never forget our failure to give refuge to more European Jews before they were marched into Hitler’s death camps.

We should do it because the United States wants to be in a position to say to our European friends and the Gulf States, who have been shamefully reluctant to act, that we are doing our part and they should do theirs. (And bless Germany for standing up on this.) We should do it because this a case where we have a practical way to help alleviate ungodly agony.

One politician who is not turning away is former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley. His Democratic presidential campaign is not gaining much traction. But whatever happens to him politically, he will always be able to point to this good deed: Not only has he called forcefully for the United States to start by taking in 65,000 refugees — well beyond the 10,000 President Obama announced he would admit — but he has also framed his argument in unabashedly moral terms. “The strength of our country depends on our acting in accordance with our deepest principles,” he told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes last week. “And one of those very, very deep principles, and it’s taught in every world religion, is that thou shall be kind to strangers, particularly when they are fleeing death or famine. . . . We have to act like the good and generous and compassionate people we are.”

Of course we should do more for our own citizens who need a hand. But our failure to help some who are in need should never be an excuse for refusing to help those facing genuine catastrophe.