Dear Michelle, I know this might be a serious topic and I understand if you choose not to answer, but I was wondering your thoughts on what’s going on when Gov officials threaten to block legislation that would help to find out who is coming into our country. Do you have any thoughts on this? On the heels of the recent catastrophic events around the world, would you block the legislation? – Confused American
Dear Confused,
Back in 2004, I attended a threat assessment academy held at the U.C.L.A. Conference Center, hosted by Gavin de Becker & Assc. Mr. de Becker is the author of the book, The Gift of Fear.
Additionally, one of the required classes I had to take in order to complete my degree program was “Terrorism.” After the 9-11 attacks which killed 300+ people I used to work with on a daily basis, I became frightened.
I will not lie about this because I think it’s a normal human behavior to want to protect one’s self and one’s family from danger. I do not think there is anything wrong with using fear as a gift to help protect one another and if that means we must change the way we might have done things in the past and be extra cautious, I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.
Truthfully, I think our enemies will always be among us and it makes sense not to develop a false sense of security thinking we know what they look like. They can be anyone, yet we should do all we can to protect one another. If I were a refugee and I was going to be screened before entering another country as a result of concern for safety, I would not take it personally.
It makes sense that we remember many will want to keep their friends close and their enemies closer. Of course, not knowing who your enemies are is part of the problem.
Note, I think screening is one thing but it gets complicated when you attempt to label and categorize based on religion or country of origin. It’s a very delicate subject and the more one thinks about it the more questions one might have come to mind.
I am not sure it’s wrong to screen any person that comes into our country. It’s also not wrong to assume we need to be mindful that we need to look within at our own moral values and be sure we are abiding by the ethical code we strive to adhere to which is the home of the free.