The false dichotomy that says “we” are not “them” has been getting a lot of play via the demagogue with bad hair whom the corporate media have made the front runner for the Republican Party presidential nomination. Enormous, diverse groups such as Muslims or refugees are lumped together and portrayed as threatening.

An eloquent response to this kind of thinking by Iraq war veteran Chris Herbert has been making the rounds on Facebook: “Getting frustrated by some people expecting racism from me, because I got blown up. Here it is: Yes. A Muslim man blew me up, and I lost my leg. A Muslim man also lost his arm that day wearing a British Uniform. A Muslim medic was in the helicopter that took me from the field. A Muslim surgeon performed the surgery that saved my life…”

Meanwhile, Maine’s governor has become infamous for hate speech aimed at immigrants. He trots out an old argument about not being able to afford to take care of “our own.” As in, who needs more welfare recipients? And who wants the crime rate to soar due to all those unemployed young men? These same arguments were used against accepting Catholic immigrants in the 19th century, and against accepting Jewish immigrants in the 20th century.

I have long believed that claiming to fear crime and welfare loafers as the rationale for opposing immigration is false. (Less so the claim of fearing Islam as a cult of violence. More on that in a minute.) What people really fear is competing against the self-selected group of people resourceful and determined enough to make it out of their war-torn country. Very often such people are educated already, though they likely won’t be able to work in their field. Nearly always they highly value education for their children, and will make any number of sacrifices to see them through college and graduate school. They will start small businesses. Let in Syrian immigrants, and in a generation they may produce another Steve Jobs, founder of Apple.

Islamophobia though — what’s that all about? Reference the fear of Catholic immigrants whose Popery was alleged to be a conspiracy to bring down the established WASP order, or of Jewish immigrants, presumed communists.

People are manipulated by propaganda that says to fear and hate the unfamiliar. Keeping “them” away from “us” is a way to make sure that groups of differing faiths don’t come together to realize how much they have in common. Christian extremists have killed hundreds of people in the U.S., but most of us would not view all Christians as posing a similar threat. The actual risk of dying at the hands of an Islamic terrorist is vanishingly small; your bath tub is, statistically, far more of a threat to your safety.

What happens when people reach across the divide of religious based phobias and listen to others tell their stories? Healing occurs. Friendships blossom. And love wins. I suggest we find ways to hear the stories of Muslim immigrants and their struggles to find a better, safer life. If you do, I predict that you will relate to their values. You may even come to feel deeply, as I do, that there is no “them” — there is only “us.”

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Lisa Savage lives in Solon. She is a member of PeaceWorks.