Within hours of the terror strikes in Paris, governors representing nearly half the United States, 23 states in all, bum rush the mic to announce that they’re issuing orders to ban refugees from Syria into their states. Is it mere coincidence that 22 of them are Republican governors? I think not. For what political party best exploits fear for its own political gain? How many millions of people still believe that U.S President Barack Obama is a secret Muslim. Political fear is so deep that it doesn’t matter how many Muslims he bombs by drone, nor how many Bibles he carries. He’s a secret Muslim. Incredible.
To be sure, this is not a new phenomenon. Back in the 1920s, millions came to the US, but Congress set strict limits for Africans, Asians, Slavs, Jews, and Italians. The favored immigrant was from England or Northern Europe. Those perceived as darker people were severely limited. It was the politics of fear then: it’s the politics of fear now. Those who are most at risk from a mad insurgency, birthed by U.S, British, Pakistani, and Saudi intelligence; those forces that armed, trained, formed, and indoctrinated anti-Soviet groups like Al-Qaeda are being banned and barred from immigration to the U.S. Amazing. The politics of fear brew the pots of paranoia in people. It closes minds, and as Iraq proved, it opened the door to more and more disaster. From imprisoned nation, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
These commentaries are recorded by Noel Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
