The Patriot Post® · Is Germany Accepting Syrian 'Refugees' a Huge Mistake?

Jonah Goldberg: “[T]he European ‘refugee crisis’ … is in many respects a migrant crisis. According to the law, never mind morality, we treat refugees differently. Refugees flee for their lives. Migrants make choices. Many of these Syrians fleeing for safety found safety — in Turkey. What they didn’t find was a pleasant place to live or to raise kids, at least not for the middle-class Syrians finally abandoning Bashar Assad’s crumbling regime. So they voted with their feet to live in — ideally — Germany or Sweden, where the standard of living is much higher and the people much more accommodating. And I can’t blame them. … And yet, where does it end? … Everyone agrees that Germany is being generous. The question remains whether it’s being foolhardy. Certainly Germany’s neighbors think it is making a mistake — potentially at their expense, because once you have citizenship in one European Union nation, you can move to any other. … When demand outstrips supply — and turning to market mechanisms isn’t an option — all that is left is rationing. That means choosing who gets to come and who doesn’t. And that requires making people wait their turn and not crash the gates. When doctors resort to triage in crowded emergency rooms, it can seem heartless to those demanding immediate relief. But it’s actually the most humane thing to do.”