Duty

We won’t save refugees by destroying our own country.

It may not be ideal, but the definition of a refugee is that he is fleeing from danger, not fleeing towards a higher standard of living. Refugees don’t demand or choose their refuge. They ask and they hope. When we become refugees one day (as we may well do), we will discover this.”

Actually we can’t do what we like with this country. We inherited it from our parents and grandparents and we have a duty to hand it on to our children and grandchildren, preferably improved and certainly undamaged. 

It is one of the heaviest responsibilities we will ever have. We cannot just give it away to complete strangers on an impulse because it makes us feel good about ourselves. Every one of the posturing notables simpering “refugees welcome” should be asked if he or she will take a refugee family into his or her home for an indefinite period, and pay for their food, medical treatment and education. 

If so, they mean it. If not, they are merely demanding that others pay and make room so that they can experience a self-righteous glow. Thanks to a thousand years of uninvaded peace, we have developed astonishing levels of trust, safety and freedom. I am amazed at how relaxed we are about giving this away. Our advantages depend very much on our shared past, our inherited traditions, habits and memories. Newcomers can learn them, but only if they come in small enough numbers. Mass immigration means we adapt to them, when they should be adapting to us.

Peter Hitchens (1951 – ) 

A statue of Olav Tryggvason is located in Trondheim, Norway. Sculpted by sculptor Wilhelm Rasmussen, it honors King Olav Tryggvason who was the city’s founder. The 18-metre (58-foot) high statue is mounted on top of an obelisk. It stands at the center of the city square (Torvet i Trondheim) at the intersection of the two main streets, Munkegata and Kongens gate. The statue was unveiled in 1921. Around the statue base is a cobblestone mosaic, dating from 1930, which forms a gigantic sun dial . The sun dial is calibrated to UTC+1, meaning that the reading is inaccurate by one hour in the summer. (Wikipedia)

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