Tag Archives: Humans

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Posted on by under Social commentary

I struggle a bit tonight with … not exactly “writer’s block”, as I rarely run out of ideas or words, but more with the issue of coming up with something that I think anybody is interested in reading.  Some of my topics are wearing thin with those who regularly read this blog, and my attempts to “lighten it up” often fall flat, I think because I am not writing from the heart when I do that.  So, I had almost decided to put it aside for a day when a piece written by Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman and CEO of Facebook, crossed my path.  It touched me (he is an altruist, a humanist, and a philanthropist).  What he said gave me the idea for this post.

Today I joined 60 technology leaders in supporting President Obama’s executive actions to prevent undocumented immigrant children from being deported.

As I travel around the world, I see many nations turning inwards. I hear growing voices for building walls and distancing people labeled as “other”. Whether it’s refugees, undocumented immigrants or underrepresented minorities, I hope we have the wisdom to understand that the best path forward is always to bring people together, not divide them.

I hope we find the compassion and courage to give everyone a fair shot, to treat everyone with respect and dignity, and do what we can to make this world better for all people — not just people who look like us or live near us.

A few years ago I taught a class on entrepreneurship at a local middle school. Some of my best students were undocumented. Because of that, they weren’t sure if they would be able to go to college. These are smart and hardworking kids who could grow up to be leaders in their communities and in the world. But despite having lived in the US for as long as they can remember, they could be denied the chance to participate fully in the life of our country and reach their potential.

We are a nation of immigrants. We are one world. And we are all connected. We must have the humanity to welcome in these children and to bring people together — and that’s what we told the Supreme Court today.

Mark Zuckerberg, 09 March 2016

 

Earlier this evening I was reading about the summit in Brussels with the EU and Turkey trying to reach some solutions for the refugee/immigrant crisis in Greece, Turkey and the EU.  It appears that there may be some progress, though I do not believe they are even close to finding an ultimate solution, but then it may well be that there is no panacea.   What bothers me, not only with the talks in Europe, but also the attitude in the U.S., is that we have all, leaders and citizens alike, lost sight of a very important fact.  We have lost sight of the fact that these refugees, these immigrants, are human beings.  They are people.  They are individuals.  They have feelings, probably the exact same type of feelings you and I have.  Their heart breaks when their child is hurt or ill.  They love, they listen to music, they dance when they are happy.  They are not dancing right now, for they are scared to death.  They are scared that death will be upon them in a matter of weeks, days or even hours.  They have no home, no food, no medical care for their children, and nobody to help them.

I understand the economics involved, that no nation can take in all the refugees, that it would shatter the economy, particularly of smaller nations in the EU, such as Austria or the Netherlands, Greece and Turkey.  I understand, also, that this situation has turned into a political tool, a bargaining chip between Turkey and the EU, but it shouldn’t be. Even the U.S. with all its resources could not possibly take them all.  But to shun them, to treat them as if they are some subclass, just some problem that must be dealt with, is the wrong way to think about it.  Yes, we must talk, we must communicate between nations, we cannot ignore our own problems, but we need to be working with other nations to try to make sure that somewhere in this world there are places where these human beings can find refuge, where they can have the basic necessities of life:  food, shelter, clothing, medical care.  If we continue to view them merely as a group called “illegal immigrants”, I fear we will never come to the point where we respect these people as humans.

I am very fortunate to know a few families who are refugees from Syria and Iraq.  The family I am most familiar with, and with whom I have formed a strong bond of friendship since they came to this country two years ago, are wonderful, warm, loving and caring people.  In Syria they were what we would consider an upper-middle income family.  They lost everything when they had to flee for their lives one night. They have three adorable boys whom they cherish just as I cherish my own children.  We have helped them, yes, but they have given us more than we could ever give them, and I am thankful for that.  They have taught me humility.  They have taught me compassion.  They have tried to teach me a few words of Arabic, but I am not a very good learner, I think.  Although I can say “thank you”, “you’re welcome”, “cat”, and “I love you” in Arabic!

A few people have said to me that I should watch my back, that these people are not good people.  Why?  Because they are Muslim.  I will not repeat what I said in response to those people, but suffice it to say that I do not deal well with bigots.  At the end of the day, we are all more than Americans or Syrians.  We are more than Christians, Jews, Muslims or atheists.  We are beyond the labels that society and politicians attach to us.  We are something far more important.  We are humans.  Let us act like it.  We cannot control what governments decide to do, but we can elect those who we believe will do their best for all people.  More importantly, though, we do have complete control over our own actions.  I am disappointed in much of my fellow mankind for the bigotry and hatred I see all around me.  I think we all need a lesson in humility and humanity.  Next time you see a Muslim woman in the grocery store, stop and remember that she is a human being, no better nor worse than any other human being.  She is a mother, a wife, a daughter, just like you, just like me.  Respect.  It is, perhaps, the biggest 7-letter word in the English language.  Respect.

Shameful Inhumanity

Posted on by under Rants, Social commentary

In the news the past few days:

• Fire at California Mosque was Intentionally Set in Possible Hate Crime (NBC News 12-11-2015)
• Two Muslim Women Attacked in Tampa (The Express Tribune 12-12-2015)
• Pig’s Head Left at Philadelphia Mosque (CNN 12-09-2015)
• Armed “Patriots” Turn Protests Toward Muslim Americans (Associated Press 12-11-2015)
• The Alabama KKK is Recruiting to “Fight the Spread of Islam” (International Business Times 12-05-2015)
• Passenger Rants About Islamic State Before Shooting Muslim Taxi Driver in Back (The Washington Post 11-30-2015)
• Muslim Student Upset After Gwinnett Teacher Asks If She Has A Bomb (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 12-11-2015)

The list goes on, but you get the picture. This, my friends, is the environment that the rhetoric by the political right wing and the media has created. I hang my head in shame at being a part of the human race tonight.

I have always thought the First Amendment guaranteeing the right to freedom of speech, freedom of press was a good idea … a great idea, even. Now? I’m not so sure. I am coming to view this “right” in much the same way I view the 2nd Amendment “right” to bear arms … it is a right that is so often abused that perhaps it should no longer be a right. I think the framers of the Constitution were operating under the false assumption that citizens of the U.S. would use their rights to make this a better nation, to promote the idea that “all men are created equal”, to lead us to “truth and justice” and would exercise at least a modicum of humanity and common sense. But alas, that was some 225 years ago and much has changed since then. My fear is that the sampling of incidents listed above is merely the beginning of what may become a horrible trend in this nation during the coming year. I blame the gaggle of presidential wanna-be’s certainly, but primarily Donald Trump who has put forth one and only one policy platform, and that is one based on extreme bigotry toward Mexicans and Muslims. Even more, I blame the media for the feeding frenzy. Journalists have a job to do, which is to keep the public informed of the things they need to know. That does not mean that their job is to stir and incite hatred by producing 24-hour news showing a single candidate over and over and over again screaming about how we must hate people based solely on their religion. And even more than the “mainstream” media, I blame the “social media”. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter have done nothing but magnify the rhetoric far out of proportion, magnify the lies put forth by the politicians, and incite some to extreme violence.

Yet there is still more blame to go around. Does anybody reading this (if anybody is) actually think that committing hate crimes against our Muslim community is okay? Probably not, as most of my followers are pretty reasonable people, but if anybody reading this thinks this hatred is okay … please let me know how you justify that … I am really curious. The bulk of the blame, my friends, is on us. The politicians can rant, and the press can and does exercise poor judgement along with their 1st Amendment rights, but if we use our own minds and let our consciences guide us, we will understand that this is not the right thing to do. There is not a single word in the U.S. Constitution that gives us a right to attack anyone based on their religion. There is no law on the books that gives us the right to set fire to a religious building or to shoot an innocent citizen. Does anybody remember the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963? Is this any different? Did we, as a nation, learn absolutely nothing in the past 50+ years? Many of the regular followers of this blog reside on the other side of the globe, and they are always amazed at how violent the U.S. has become, how lax our policies on increasingly-lethal weapons, and how we turn a blind eye to it all. The real problem, as I see it, is that we no longer take the time and effort to read, to dig for facts, and then to use our own brains to think for ourselves. Apparently it is much easier to troll social media sites for memes that put forth the opinions of others, then take those opinions as our own. Apparently rather than dust the cobwebs off of our own brains, we prefer to be followers, always believing what somebody else tells us we ought to believe. So yes, there is plenty of blame to go around, but ultimately the buck stops here … on my shoulders and on yours.