By John McDowell

One truth impressed upon me while obtaining my Master’s Degree in Counseling is that most people tend to respond and react emotionally to situations. This is especially true for young people. However, as we become older our reasoning capabilities SHOULD enable us to differentiate between emotional and reasoned reactions.

Our response to legislation, events of life, societal changes, etc. should be driven by reasoned thinking rather than the ebb and flow of emotions.

In regards to Trump’s recent executive order on immigration let us move beyond emotional  reactions and get to reasoned thinking. Let reason take hold before taking action. A few things to consider:

1. Read the executive order completely.

2. Have similar orders been given by previous administrations? (Yes, Obama and Carter for example).

3. Of the 325,000 foreigners who entered America on Saturday only 109 were detained for more questioning.

4. During war does it change how a nation implements its refugee/immigrant policy? Imagine during WWII if any German could enter America, all on the basis of claiming refugee status. This “all-inclusive” policy would be extremely dangerous without a proper plan to differentiate between those who were fleeing war-torn Europe and those who might be enemy combatants, spies, etc.

5. The vast majority of Muslim countries are not banned but just some of the countries that are currently hot beds of terrorism. Nothing even references a Muslim ban in the order.

6. The Executive Order can be waived on a case by case basis.

7. The order limits refugees to 50K per year (in line with past Administrations)

8. What course of action should take place regarding refugees/immigrants? We should study historical context and observe how Europe has been handling the crisis. Finally, how does our refugee/immigrant policies affect American safety, economic prosperity, and way of life?

9. Hopefully after all this we can have civil discourse without lashing out with words that are absolute lies and ridiculous.

10. Does this executive order go beyond the reach of the Constitution? (To help answer this question I will be writing a piece in the near future on executive orders and the lack of principled Americans).