Should the US accept more Syrian refugees?

Obama is reportedly set to propose allowing 5,000 more refugees into the US than the current annual limit of 70,000.  To put those numbers in perspective, Germany, whose population is a quarter of ours, is projected to accept 800,000 this year.

I think we should accept several hundred thousand, too.  We do bear a share of the responsibility for the present turmoil in the Middle East, and welcoming more refugees would be great PR, which is the best way to fight terrorism.  I still have a romantic notion of the US as a place that welcomes the world’s downtrodden, even if the numbers cited above and many other facts contradict that idea.  I also like to think of the US as a place where you’re guaranteed nothing but that you’ll be left alone, although that is certainly no longer the case.  So, maybe much of my appeal is based on a version of America that no longer exists, but it’s one that I’d like to see recreated, and welcoming refugees (and immigrants) is an important part of that America.

Besides, even The Donald would open the gates of his wall for them.