Day 59 - One Thing Defines Us, The Same Destroys Us

I turned 49 this past Friday, which makes me "potentially" a bit wiser than I was the previous year. Normally, I use my birthday to think back on who I am, what I have accomplished, and where I want to go in life. However, this year, I wasn't able to do that. After being present for the October 7 massacre and closely collaborating with several volunteer organizations to provide civil assistance, I developed a slightly different perspective on the world.

This morning, when I woke up, I saw a number of international news articles. Some of the articles told me that "the world is waking up," but others exposed the world's hypocrisy, which is also what brought us to this current state of affairs.

The well-known investor and finance expert Bill Eckmann has started his own "personal crusade" to expose what happened on October 7 to the academic community. In order to accomplish this, he has chosen to use the most potent weapon in his arsenal: the pockets of the students and the academic institutions. In a short amount of time, Mr. Eckmann exposed the "Hypocrisy of the American student" by his campaign to "rid the financial system" of students who actively support the Hamas/ISIS actions or openly deny the massacre; this has led to a situation where the same students are forced to reconsider their actions because they are in school to advance in life and get a good job afterwards; however, being held accountable for their actions may result in their dismissal from the jobs they so desperately need and desire.

The Values That We Hold Dear

Among my friends, I am known as a "balanced liberal," which means that I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to grow, live happily, and have financial security, and that any disagreement can be addressed via an open discussion.

I awoke this morning reading a few articles about the UK, Germany, Sweden, and other European countries actively seeking illegal immigrant refugees and other pro Hamas/ISIS individuals - to actively expel them from these countries; at the same time, it appears that some countries are actively engaged in demolishing mosques and other Islami-Jihadist gathering places, as they identify these.

I have close friends who live in some of these countries, and we have had various "disagreements" over the years about how their countries dealt with refugees and their inclusion. I always said: "Your country's willingness to accept these refugees, without any type of due-diligence, is truly admirable. It shows how the value of life is at your country's top priorities. However, while your country is doing everything it can to assist these refugees - are they (the refugees) doing their part, in integrating to your country?"

My parents tell me that my grandfather was a wise man - I never got to meet him because he died a year before I was born. In his memoirs, he wrote about the division of Germany after WWII, saying (I am paraphrasing): "The German people are proud, potentially the most proud nation and people in Europe. Germany will not stay divided for many years - they will eventually merge back" - and so it did.

When you hear Muslim refugees in Canada and Berlin publicly declare that their first allegiance is to Islam and not to the country that saved and welcomed them—and that they would support Sharia laws in these countries, in favor of the current law—it means that these refugees never wanted to integrate; indeed, they may live there, but they do not see these countries as their home (yet); if given the chance, they would prefer to take over and change them. The same values that urged many European nations to accept refugees from various countries, are actively challenged by the same people who these values saved.

Here just a few examples:

Now What?

There are solid arguments on both sides, and no one answer will address the concerns raised by those who say, "deport them, kick them out, they do not want to be a part of us," and those who argue, "no, you can not do that, where will they go? it is not their fault, it is the fault of...."

I think the answer to these problems lies in some way in the work of Bill Eckmann. People are generally lazy and afraid, and if you ask them if they would rather live on government assistance or work for a living, they will most likely choose the latter because it is easier to play the victim and everything you do can be linked to your status as a refugee. As a result, you are actively being given a "pass" on nearly all "unacceptable actions."

I believe that if a nation wishes to admit refugees, then great—I command you to do so! But do not give them permanent refugee status; help and finance them for a predetermined amount of time, and then force them to begin integrating; once they become self sufficient and self reliant, they will begin to change. Any solution that is dependent on altruism and goodwill will serve to perpetuate the status of refugees and prevent their inclusion.

Signing Off...

I'm not a politician nor a statesman, just an engineer that looks at things from an analytical standpoint. There is a high chance you don't agree with what I think and what I write - and I accept that.

I'm confident that if you have something to say, you leave a comment. But, before you leave some "silly" or simply "hateful" comment about the above, think about it - is the comment really yours? or is it simply someone else's - and you're just echoing your own frustration about the world through someone else's words?