What makes a nation great?
It often depends on the criteria used.
Is it the nation’s wealth, its natural resources, its power, its influence?
Objectively, the United State is indisputably a great nation by those measures.
Yet those characteristics should not be the only standard by which the greatness of a nation is defined.
A nation is great if its people are free to live their lives according to their own beliefs. A nation is great if its citizens are afforded the same opportunities despite their race, religion, ancestry, sexuality and other differences that may fall outside the mainstream. A nation is great if it cares for the needy and underprivileged.
A nation is great for its big-heartedness.
The popular slogan “Make America Great Again” should be regarded as an insult to every citizen, since it suggests that our nation is no longer great. Certainly, our nation has often fallen short of its ideals, sometimes grievously. But the United States remains, in many, many ways, the standard for what a nation should seek to be.
One of the ways that greatness is expressed is our response to refugees. It is written into our national DNA. From the first individuals who fled to America seeking religious freedom to the words printed on the Statue of Liberty today, our reputation as a land of refuge for the persecuted is something that defines America. Closing our doors to refugees would reflect flagrant disregard for this legacy and for American principles.
Our immigrant roots have served as the moral backbone of America, fostering a society that has welcomed diversity in our communities and honored differences of both faith and culture.
In fact, in a letter to a Dutch colleague, George Washington expressed that sentiment, saying: “I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.”
Note that. A refugee is a refugee regardless of race, religion or nation of origin. A person from Guatemala or Honduras who has been terrorized, tortured or traumatized is no less a refugee that a Ukranian. Neither has a greater or lesser degree of humanity than the other. Our response should be no different, either.
Over the past nine months our greatness is again on display in our response to the refugees of Ukraine, whose country was violently attacked by Russia in a manner that spared neither Ukrainian soldiers nor civilians. A month after the Russian invasion began, President Joe Biden called for our nation to take in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. Since March, roughly 150,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the United States.
That figure goes beyond government policy. It speaks to the decency of individual citizens, who have opened up their hearts, their wallets and, in the case of the Foster family in Starkville, their homes, to refugees.
With the support of Starkville Strong and others in the community, Joeann and Stephen Foster have taken in a family of four Ukranians — Krystyna and Maksym Samoilenko and their two sons, Mikhail and Denys.
Kathy Cadden, who founded Operation Ukraine 23 years ago to provide aid to needy Ukranians, said the Samoilenkos are among the 11 Ukrainian refugee families living with local families in the Golden Triangle.
Not everyone has the ability to host a family, but we can all do our part in support of the refugees and their host families.
Donations to Starkville Strong can be sent or taken to 109 S Lafayette St, Starkville, MS, 39759.
Donations for Operation Ukraine can be sent to P.O. Box 411, Columbus, MS, 39703.
We have a pretty good idea of how you will respond.
It’s one of the things that makes our nation — and our community — truly great.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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