Fear and irrational thinking: The real cause of terrorism.

This past summer I was making a cup of coffee when I noticed an ant in my sugar bowl. I picked it up between my index finger and thumb and squished it, flicking it off and into the sink where I then washed my hands. I stood and looked at my coffee-- Black. Bitter-- Not at all appealing to my sugar and cream based palette. I looked down to the sugar bowl and debated if there would be more ants.

Should I just dump the full bowl of sugar into the garbage?

What if I don't have any more sugar in the house? 

I sifted with a spoon and saw no evidence, but still, picked up the bowl and dumped it straight into the garbage.

 Just to be safe.

That's what we're doing currently to people seeking refuge in the United States. Governors have been quick to declare how they don't want to accept refugees in their states, while President Obama has said that the decision is a federal concern and he has decided that we are. Facebook newsfeeds have erupted in hatred, blatant racism and fear mongering. Every news channel is talking about how Obama is nuts to allow refugees into the U.S. after the attacks that are going on around the globe.

Fear has made us forget all perspective and reason. We're still crushing ants in a sugar bowl and now we're getting rid of all the sugar, just in case there might be another ant somewhere in there. We're breeding panic, when we shouldn't be so quick to forget is that one ant is easily squashed. Even a hundred. Or a thousand. In terms of world powers, we are stronger and better equipped to deal with said infestations. As a country, we spend millions of dollars in defense. The defense programs are the highest funded programs in our nation's history. We have this, so let the Department of Defense do their well-funded jobs.

Terrorists win when we allow fear to seep in and dictate our actions. Irrationality overpowers common sense when our sense of security is compromised.  They know this. They know full well that we're going to want to dump that sugar bowl and stop letting refugees in; that we will steel our hearts to those who need us most and turn a blind eye to tragedy.

We can't allow this to happen. We can't close our borders to people who so desperately need our help.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
--Edmund Burke, who, by the way, is known as the father of modern conservatism. 

Allow those words to echo in your thoughts as you post about protecting ourselves and our borders by closing them. We can't look away, because once we do, everything we once knew to be true and good, goes in the trash.