Friday, November 20, 2015

VP Joe Biden's impromptu speech on refugees and American values is exactly what I needed to hear.

Are you surprised? Joe Biden is being awesome and kind again.


CBS 11's Jack Fink shouted a question to Vice President Joe Biden.

"Mr. Vice President, can we ask you a question about the Syrian refugees, sir?"

I love the way he turned his head and immediately went toward the question.

It's basically what I do when I smell bacon. To Vice President Biden, truth and kindness are his bacon.

Then, Biden made two great points immediately.

1. Kindness

2. Truth

I love the smell of that!

Go on then, Joe!

And with that, he was done.

How can you deny that? Like, Come ON.

That's the truth right there.

And when our buddy Biden said, "We have a real vetting system for refugees coming into this country," he was. not. kidding.

Right now, we're seeing a whole lotta conversations about how welcoming Syrian refugees to our country could somehow make us less safe. But, I'm taking a tip from Biden, and sticking to the truth.

Here are the facts:

1. Refugees are the most vetted category of folks coming to the United States. They have to undergo interviews and a TON of security screenings from the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Department of Defense, and more before they can come to the U.S.

2. Syrian refugees can't just "show up." It takes an average of 18 to 24 months for refugee applications to be processed in the U.S. And it's actually taking a lot longer right now because the White House is being extra cautious about security concerns after the Paris attacks.

Also, here's one for kindness:

3. Syrian refugees are fleeing some of the worst violence and terror ... not unlike the violence and terror we recently saw in Paris. These folks are survivors. And we should stand with them, especially right now.

I'm with Marine Phil Klay who tweeted:

"[I]t's only during frightening times when you get to find out if your country really deserves to call itself the 'home of the brave.'"

If that just made your heart explode like it did mine, go ahead and share this with someone.


ORIGINAL via CBS DFW. For an idea of what the refugee application process is like, you can read about the experience of a Bosnian Refugee. It's very detailed and super interesting, and it's a helpful personal story if you happen to not know any refugees.



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