Syrian Connections

Day #322 was another long day at work and then Parent-Teacher conferences at the kids' school.  But the connecting moment of 11/18/15 was when my mom posted this picture.  It's of my grandmother (paternal) and of my cousins and me (from 1977!)  Mentioned in the post, as the resulting comments, is that my grandmother was of Syrian descent and, in fact, her family was, at one time, Christian Syrian refugees fleeing religious persecution.....and, wow, that connects me (and us) to current time. And it makes me think that (except for my 100% Native American FB friends), anyone who is reading this likely has, in their geneology, a set of family members who emigrated to the U.S.  And, while not all were escaping religious persecution, some were escaping a potato famine, some were looking for a better life in a new world and, yes, some were brought here against their own will.  But the fact remains that the United States is a melting pot of cultures, religions, and identities.  And that is how we were founded as a nation.  To think that there are a people who wish to deny entry to this country for a set of people that are refugees, escaping religious persecution, when many of those same people likely have family history of the same situation saddens me.  We should all understand that we are connected to all across this world and, in this time of political turmoil, we should welcome those who are looking for a safe space, and a better life.  Because many of us are connected to the same circumstances.