My wife, Patricia, and I were reading the New York Times the other day, and on the front cover was a picture of a fleeing Ukrainian family lying dead in the street. Their faces were clearly visible, including the small children. It was moving and brought us both to tears. Patricia said to me, “We don’t do that, do we? We don’t show pictures of the dead before they are covered in a blanket.”
I told her that she was right, that journalists are trained to respect the dead, and not picture them uncovered, especially their faces. Yet, here they were, even the innocent children, dead on the pavement, with their stilled, innocent faces, lying lifeless. Experiencing the horrible impact upon us caused me to question our journalistic convention against such photos. As I was mulling it over in a state of grief, I said to her, no, the photographer and editor were right to run the photo because it transported me into the anguish of these people.
What the Ukrainian people are living is an unspeakable hell. They are dying by the thousands and their cities are being obliterated, and appropriately their plight is arousing enormous compassion in much of the world. There are 4 million refugees that are pouring into neighboring countries, and from all indications, they are being received with empathy and great kindness.
How should America respond? We are a kind people, and we should stand shoulder to shoulder with our European brethren who are taking them in. In terms of numbers of refugees, what does that mean? Europe is struggling to feed and house these 4 million, knowing there are currently another 6 million homeless potentially on their way. We should take in our share of the 4 million who have already crossed the borders into Europe. Given the size of the European Union and our size, our share would be at least 1.5 million.
For those of us who don’t want to shoulder this burden, we can answer that currently we have 11 million unfilled jobs. We can bring them here and let them go to work; in doing so, they will add to America’s prosperity, not take from it. The people who are displaced are from the cities which have been bombed; many are educated, and many speak English. They are an advanced people, with atomic energy generating plants, and prosperous cities with subway systems. They will contribute.
Let us continue to be the people that we have always been, opening our arms to these maligned individuals. We will bless them, and we will be blessed in turn.
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From the Bible: Jesus told a man a story: A traveler fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. A passing priest saw him and looked away. So likewise, a Levite. But a Samaritan, when he saw him, had compassion on him. He set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the traveler? Jesus asked the man. The man replied The one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him, You go, and do likewise. From Luke, Ch. 10
