A New York Times editorial about tension on the Syria-Turkey border says "Turkey is already burdened by almost four million Syrian refugees, whose presence is increasingly becoming a political liability for Mr. Erdogan."
That made me chuckle. When Syrian refugees wind up in Turkey, the Times describes them as a "burden" and a "political liability," backing diplomatic solutions to prevent more of them. Yet when President Trump acts to keep Syrian and other similar refugees out of America, the Times goes into high moral dudgeon, with editorials such as this one: "The Trump administration has systematically acted to bar as many refugees and asylum seekers as possible, virtually from its first day, supplanting America's traditional welcome to the world's desperate people with a spirit of xenophobia and bigotry....This shortsighted politicking denies a fundamental virtue — and key advantage — of America's democracy: that it is a land of immigrants and refugees. It ignores the contributions of immigrants to the greatness of the United States."
FutureOfCapitalism favors increased legal immigration, including from Syria. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, after all, was the biological child of a Syrian who came to America, Abdulfattah Jandali. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing, and 4 million Syrian refugees may be more than Turkey can comfortably swallow. But the idea that even the bleeding hearts over at the Times editorial board are now denouncing Syrian refugees as a "burden" rather than an "advantage" suggests that President Trump's sway over the political debate in America is stronger than widely recognized. It's something to recall the next time one hears the president denounced for xenophobia.
