So our country and friendship circles seem to be teeming with the debate of whether or not we should accept Syrian refugees into our country, yet most of us know little about their people, their culture or their beliefs.

We seem to be certain that therye is either: a lot of terrorists infiltrating our country disguised as refugees -OR- hordes of helpless, innocent people caught in the crossfire of a war that isn’t theirs.

The Numbers: The Syrian Civil War has claimed over 310,000 lives. This might seem like a lot, but 90% of these people were actively engaged in the war. Imagine if ISIS fulfills their promise to attack Washinton, D.C. and claim the lives of approximately half of its residents. This would be equivilent to the total known loss of life from the Syrian Civil War, which is approaching its 5th year…One half of our nation’s capitol.

In comparison the numbers are strikingly lower, but consider those innocent people, the 10%… They have lost 27 times the amount of people we have due to terrorism, all in the span of 5 years. We lost 3,300 with the tragic events of 9-11 and since then we have lost dozens each year. Remember how you felt? Remember the insecurity? Imagine if those kind of acts became your reality for five years. Every life has value and war is a place for soldiers not civilians. Getting the innocents out of the mix makes it easier for the forces fighting ISIS.

Take a look at this image and think about the number of people who have fleed rom their hometowns to stay safe.

What if we find a way to help them yet refrain from making ourselves vulnerable? Perhaps we could use some of the FEMA camps that our government built across the US to house them and to process them safely.

We have the technology to determine which individuals are known to be associated with ISIS and decrease risks by keeping the people under high security for their and our protection.

Who is picking up the tab? Funding this is a major challenge and a large portion of the debate. This is mostly because we have what appears to be an unplayable debt, yet we keep cutting checks. Our commonwealth can’t pass a budget and it wants to pay for the care of other people? I understand the frustration and outrage. I  imagine all of you wish you could do what our leadership does without being charged a fee for insufficient funds. We could all “make it rain!”

I’ve heard people complain that we take care of everyone else rather than each other. I couldn’t agree more. We should take care of each other, but we could take care of others as well. We aren’t the only people pitching in. If we can have corporate sponsors for presidents, why not for the aid of a country. I’m sure we have some people without jobs who could help take care of people for a stipend, but it’s easier just to add it to the invisible deficit.

While I would like to help, I am not willing to bring a homeless person into my house to live with my wife and children. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a Syrian refugee either but that doesn’t mean that I can’t do something.

So how do we pay for it?

Perhaps we have them work and earn their keep. I’m sure there are creative, skilled, caring, intelligent and able people in those crowds.

Many would argue, once the civilians are gone we could turn their land into a glass ash tray, right? Maybe we then recover their oil and remaining resources and claim it as our own.

It would be nice if it was that simple, but there are now over 12 countries involved in what started as protests and has transformed as attempt at genocide and the eradication of Christian people.

While I am no expert, I know they our nation is a darker place than it once was. I get why people outside of our country don’t like us, but this isn’t just about Americans. ISIS seeks to do what Christians did to Muslims during the Crusades; convert or massacre. They believe they are following their god’s will in doing so.

They will reclaim Damascus as the capital of their Caliphate and will press on to attempt to reconstruct a powerful Muslim nation that many believe will lead to Armageddon. Without getting into too much detail, these Muslims aren’t the peaceful ones. These are the  “boom” kind of Muslims.

Whether you are a Christian or not, you need to understand that ISIS seeks to kill those who aren’t like them, so we are all at risk.

The Point: The decisions being made have major consequences, but regardless of whether we help people or not, the war us coming to our turf, so we might as well get ready.

Who will come to our aid when our land is pockmarked, our buildings rubble, and our people persecuted? I guess our best defense is to get to know our neighbors and begin to be communities again. Perhaps we invite these people into our culture like we have in the past. If we do it properly, we can do it safely. There will always be risks of terrorism, be it foreign or domestic, but I understand that the risks are increasing. SoI guess I’ll leave this one up to you.

Open Arms or Bear Arms: What do you think?