It's "Casablanca" revisited: Refugees and Rick's American Cafe...As Time Goes By...

Rick Blaine: I'm not fighting for anything anymore except myself. I'm the only cause I'm interested in.

Senor Ferrari: My dear Rick, when will you realize that in this world, today, isolationism is no longer a practical policy? 

In 1942, refugees were pouring out of Europe, escaping from Nazi Germany. Casablanca's anti-hero, Rick Blaine--played by Humphrey Bogart--has to come to grips with his conscience. Is his own needs, his security, his insulated world all that matters? Or does he support those who have been persecuted and are trying to reach America--the beacon of hope?  Rick, like the nation he represents, knows where his destiny lies. Today, "It's still the same old story."


With fear dominating the public discourse, the ban on immigrants from seven Muslim nations and others who may 'appear' to be "bad hombres" is the first major controversy the Trump Administration faces. But why are people today pouring put of their nations of origin? There are 65 million refugees--1 out of every 113 people on Earth according to the UN. So let's take a look at Tom Friedman's assessment of why this situation has reached epic proportions in his newest book: Thank You for Being Late: an Optimists Guide in the Age of Accelerations.

1. The Climate is causing "The Killing Fields:  Africa's drought has turned its once fertile land that into sandpaper. For instance, in Madagascar, the farmers in villages cannot feed their people. That's when one of two things happen. First, the young men reluctantly have to head north for work to traveling to Libya or Morocco. When they find little work there, it is off to the boats and the treacherous high seas. That is problematic at best, tragic at worst. The villages they leave have only women, children.and the elderly, and are connected to other villages that are connected to cities and, like dominoes, are a part of failing states: Niger, Chad, Somalia, Nigeria, Libya, Liberia, etc.etc.etc. Starvation becomes desperation. Violence becomes the order of the day--and that leads to even more refugees.

The other option is to join radical groups like ISIS or Al Qaeda (in Yemen, Iran,etc), that pay these young men who have nothing to lose. They can easily be turned into terrorists,So the inability to earn a living and feed their families with the crops they have nurtured as they have done for generations, is directly related to the lack of rainfall, the hottest temperatures in the history of the planet--or the unpredictable, dramatic changes in the weather that lead to flooding that washed out what few crops they could try to cultivate.

It's not just Africa. The "Cradle of Civilization" between the Tigris and the Euphrates (aka Iran/ Iraq) is already seeing the blistering affects of 134 degree heat.

It's not a hoax the Chinese made up,These are the facts and nothing is "alternative" but these horrendous conditions are only accelerating. The Paris Accords on Climate Change that would globally limit carbon pollutants in the atmosphere is (as I have written in a previous blog) the best hope for the survival of the planet as we know it. Nevertheless, Trump seems to ignore this and claims it isn't in the interest of his "America's First" policy. This myopic view breeds ignorance of the scientific community and the irrefutable facts.

2. Failing Dictators and Russia's Assassin: Syrian refugees have escaped into Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. They have trekked to Europe. The numbers are mind numbing. They have nothing. In their cities, their businesses have been destroyed. Their farms blown to bits. There is no sanctuary. Russian planes have bombed hospitals. It has been indiscriminate. Bill O'Rielly is right: "Putin is a killer." He is responsible for propping up a war criminal: Bashar al-Assad. Only time will tell what fate awaits.


Canada has stepped up to help these refugees, mostly women and children. Many of their husbands are dead, fighting, or have sacrificed themselves for their family's safety. America, under Trump, acts frightened of them. Our policies are shameful. Trump made it clear in his speech to Congress: he is the president of America and not responsible for the world's problems. (And he most certainly is not going to stop the Russians.)

To be fair, President Obama could not stop either of these planet altering issues. However, Obama did lead the Paris Accords, the next best chance to head off climate catastrophe. His policies toward Syria were impotent (mostly because no peace could hold back Assad, and Obama saw the perils of 'boots on the ground' and a likely clash with Russia in a no-win-all-lose quagmire.) Obama's need to show compassion to refugees was remarkably more welcoming. Obama's understanding of what it means to be the "Leader of the Free World" for the last 70 years has kept another world war from breaking out.

Of course, one might know this if one read books--preferably history books, instead of watching "Fox and Friends."

Speaking of books, I am just touching the surface of Friedman's themes in his newest, alarming book. He is optimistic, as am I perhaps this brief summary of the global refugee crisis will enlighten others (I know his book is very long). Certainly, it behooves all Americans from the left and the right to ask ourselves these questions: Is isolationism and fear at the heart our nation's character? Are we the only cause we're interested in? The clock is ticking faster and faster--how will this end.?


Refugees have always been pawns in a tragic game...and "it's still the same old story." 

Here's hoping we do not "round up the usual suspects."