George R.R. Martin gave his two cents on the Syrian refugee crisis. The famed writer of the "Game of Thrones" series asserted that the United States is a nation traditionally welcoming to those without a home, and this should not change now.
Martin does not agree with the House of Representatives, who voted against the entrance of refugees through US borders. On Friday, he took to his LiveJournal to air his views. He opened his post with the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus. A plaque with this poem's text can be found on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
Martin pointed out the irony that this statue was a gift from France, one of the US long-time allies. For the US to decide to turn away refugees now is "shameful" for the author. "One has to wonder if all the governors (including our own governor here in New Mexico, I am ashamed to say) and congressmen voting to keep out the Syrian refugees have ever visited the Statue, or read the words on her base," Martin wrote. "If so, they surely failed to understand them."
On his post, Martin emphasized that the country is always a place that has always opened its doors to those without a home. Donald Trump's comments and the decisions of some US governors for him could not be more wrong.
The "Games of Thrones" writer's comments did not meet widespread acceptance. Some commented that his views of the refugee crisis were too simplistic. One commented that he seemed to have forgotten that lives are at stake. One commenter dared Martin to be the one to open his home to the refugees if he has the money to pay for their needs.
Martin, however, did not let these critics be. He replied to some of them. Martin replied, "Real lives are at stake. The lives of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees driven from their homes by war. Many of them women and children. That's the whole point. There's a moral imperative here." Martin also replied by saying the assumption that the refugees are "lazy leeches" could not be more absurd. He stated that immigrants have time and again showed to be economically productive in society.
It could be remembered that last Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to approve a bill that would prevent refugees from Syria and Iraq to enter the United States unless they undergo a strict background check process and pass.
