We are often told that just because there are a few "bad people" who own guns that we should not paint the rest of gun owners with a broad brush. Since we have so many more mass shootings in our country than in any other major country in the world, (Sorry, I am not including countries ruled by Drug Cartels.) we hear this all of the time. And even the most die-hard gun enthusiast would not try to pin that logic on a liberal or progressive, so you must agree that this is a conservative notion. The point is built on the following tenet of logical fallacy:
In argumentation theory, an argumentum ad populum (Latin for "appeal to the people") is a fallacious argument that concludes that a proposition is true because many or most people believe it: "If many believe so, it is so."
Many gun owners take comfort in that fallacy. It is compelling to those looking for simple solutions to big problems.
Now let's look at the abject fear being raised by conservative United States governors in reaction to the possibility of 30,000 immigrants from Syria being admitted to the USA to escape the tyrannical leadership in their home country. They say that we cannot take the risk. It only takes a couple of "bad Muslims" acting as Syrian refugees to bring terror to the Homeland. No talk of the waiting period or the vetting of the refugees, just fear. We cannot take the chance.
They are painting the argumentation theory in reverse of their gun argument. If you replace "bad people" in the opening argument on gun control with "bad Muslims posing as Syrian Refugees" and say we should not paint all Syrian refugees with a broad brush, the same conservative will likely tell you that you are being preposterous.
I am not anti-gun. I wish Syrians were not being persecuted by a corrupt dictator propped up by Vladimir Putin. I abhor when suffering gets turned into a political football. I am also not going to sit back and say nothing when hundreds of thousands of people, many of them innocent women and children, are looking for safe haven here, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, but are turned back because of xenophobic weakness and the fear of Muslims.
The blood of those returned to Syria and to ISIS will be on our hands. ISIS wants to create a world war on the notion that the West hates every Muslim. By accepting this position you will also be responsible for being a recruitment tool for extremists everywhere. Your choice. Mine is to reach out a hand to show compassion and kindness. I choose to face the fear rather than run from what my moral underpinnings tell me is the right thing to do.
