With a new President and a month of 2017 under our belt, many changes have already occurred to shake up the country. As of this week, President Trump has issued an “immigration ban.” Of course most of the articles I came across were primarily biased in favor of a more liberal agenda. I find it to be very challenging to find a reliable news source and form my own opinion with so called “fake news” and all of the biased media of this generation. Teenagers are notorious for not having a solid opinion because they typically give into whatever the popular opinion is among their families and friend groups. This immigration ban is one of the most divided political decisions I have seen in my short lifetime. I expected to hear a lot of different sides from the media, but what I really wanted to hear was what my fellow students thought about this so called “muslim ban.” After all, our generation will determine the future.

The immigration ban, to put it in the simplest terms, states that America will not allow anyone from 7 countries in the Middle East into the country. This provoked instant outrage from American immigrants, liberals, and those who believe Trump has racist ideas. Some people believe that this ban is not legal and is not what America is based on. I don’t blame the initial reaction, because America is supposed to be a “melting pot” with diversity of culture, race, and religion. However, Trump’s main concern was rooted in possible foreign danger from these primarily Muslim countries. Large globalized companies like Apple and Google have urged the end of this “discriminatory ban” because of their many employees all over the world. In fact the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, is considering legal action of some form. Cook stated,

“More than any country in the world, this country is strong because of our immigrant background and our capacity and ability as people to welcome people from all kinds of backgrounds,”
I asked someone a little closer to me, not the CEO of one of the biggest corporations in the world, what they thought. I spoke with a Christ Church student about what they thought of the ban and at first they were naturally hesitant to respond. It was much harder to get an answer when students found out they were going to be quoted in an article. This is because they didn’t want other students to be offended by their answer, because we are such a close community and this is a very divided topic. But after some discussion and agreement that they could be anonymous, this was the response I received from a student, “I think that the immigration ban has caused a very unfortunate sequence of events for the current residents of the US and that it is doing more harm than good.” This was a relatively vague answer, but it definitely fits with the belief system most seem to have in the media. It leads me to question, does this student really feel this way, or are they relying on what they are seeing in the media? Trump does not believe that this is religious discrimination, but rather protecting Americans from unsafe organizations and people that lack America’s best interest. With our history of terrorism from radical islamists, it doesn’t seem too unreasonable to take as many precautions as possible to keep Americans safe. Most conservatives believe we have become so consumed by not offending groups of people, we are willing to put ourselves in vulnerable situations against countries and extremists that wish death upon us. I see their point, but in a country with so much pride in diversity, it is a moral struggle to decide whether this ban is right or wrong. In an interview with Fox News, Vice President Pence stated, “On the very day the executive order was implemented … there were hundreds of thousands of people [who] came in from countries all over the world into the United States and, I think, more than 100 were detained for addition questioning,” he added “that is a small price to pay for the security of the American people.” Of course Pence supports the ban 100% and believes that it is necessary to ensure the safety that we are granted in this amazing country. This is obviously contradictory to the beliefs on the left side. Trump stands with the viewpoint that this ban’s purpose is to strengthen one of the values that America is based on; safety. Republicans believe that if Americans, our government in particular, would stop worrying about offending others, we would be in a much safer and stronger position. Perhaps that is why we elected the most straightforward political outsiders in American history, Donald Trump, as our new President. The era of “Making America Great Again” is just beginning whether you like it or not. Hope is what keeps America running, so we can only hold onto hope for the near future of America.