I am a faithful viewer of The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News. The show that aired this past Wednesday left me feeling a little unsettled. In a segment featuring Monica Crowley, Bill asked her about a recent trip she made to Austria and Germany. She commented on the thousands of Syrian Refugees that she saw coming through the main train station in Vienna on their way to Germany. She referred to the situation as an “invasion”, and said there are upwards of 10,000 coming in each day. The most disturbing part of her story was that she saw very few women and children. Those she saw were predominantly “fighting-age” males. She continued by saying the Red Cross volunteers that she spoke with said they are experiencing a security problem. Many of these young men are armed with knives, and the volunteers feel threatened. Citizens in Germany that live near the areas these refugees are staying have also said that they feel their personal safety is at risk.

This gives me pause. With President Obama planning to accept 10,000 or more of these refugees, I think we need to be aware of and very cautious of the very real threat that some of these Syrian Muslims may pose to our country. I have the utmost sympathy for anyone wanting to flee a  war-torn and dangerous country, especially women and children. As Americans, we are extremely blessed to live in a place where we are safe and free to raise our families without the constant threat of war and violence. My heart truly goes out to those who do not have these advantages. However, we also have an obligation to protect our citizens and our country from those who wish to do us harm. We have already experienced large-scale terror attacks here in the United States, and our government must be committed to do everything possible to prevent future attacks.

I remember a comment made many years ago by one of my high-school history teachers: the easiest way to take over a country is from the inside. This may sound like fear-mongering, but I do not discount the ingenuity of those who chant, “Death to America!”.