Securing the borders in a different fashion...

Former Iranian President Ayatollah Khatami has been granted a visa by the United States State Department to enter the United States and give a lecture on tollerance at Harvard University. He will be speaking on September 10th and remaining in the country through September 11th as a guest of the university. I mention this not out of my own sense of outrage, which is great, but instead to honor the decision of a man whom I rarely support and with whom I rarely agree. Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts has informed the US State Department and stated publicly that he will not grant any resources from the state to secure or protect the former Iranian President. He will not receive security protection. He will not receive police escorts or traffic assistance in any form. He will not receive a state welcome at the airport. If he is to be escorted or protected, Governor Romney is leaving those duties for the US State Department and Harvard University to figure out. The following is a statement by Governor Romney on his decision and the decision to allow Ayatollah Khatami to enter the US to speak:

"I think it's an outrage that in this season of memory of those that lost their lives, that we would be inviting someone who is a terrorist to this country, and that in particular, this person would be invited to Harvard to come speak on the topic of tolerance. It's outrageous, and for that reason, I have instructed our state agencies, and particularly our executive office of public safety not to provide any support whatsoever for his visit. And that means not to provide the escort and security personnel which would normally be associated with a person of interest of this nature. And it may well lead to them reassessing whether they want to come to Harvard. I certainly hope so."

I honestly find the decision of Governor Romney patriotic, moral, and politically sound. Those are hard words for me to type, think, or even utter, simply because I tend to greatly disagree with the majority of the governor's stances; political, social, moral, or otherwise. I have never hesitated to state these disagreements in the past, nor will I hesitate in the future, but on this occasion I feel compelled to honor a firm stance against an obvious injustice. It is also important to note that Governor Romney is an alumnus of Harvard, making this stance even more impressive. I realize as a pragmatist that much of his motivation is political, possibly weaving neatly into his many trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, but regardless of his ultimate intentions, the decision itself is just and necessary. We as an organized society, local, state, and federal, should respect the sacrifices of those who lost their lives fighting for our freedom, or simply fell during an attack by our enemies. Respect is shown in many ways, and one such way is to cast aside associations with those who have actively sought to harm Americans through fighting against the principles of freedom and democracy and basic human rights. Ayatollah Khatami is one such person who has taken up arms, both figuratively and literally, against Americans and their allies throughout the world. By pulling back resources in his state, Governor Romney honors all those who stand for freedom and those who fell in its name.