Tag Archives: United States

On Demonizing the Victims

Posted on by under Global Issues

Baghdad, Iraq – 02 July 2016 – At least 175 deaths confirmed, many still missing – A suicide bomber affiliated with Daesh struck Baghdad’s bustling commercial area of Karada late on Saturday, when many residents were spending the night out before the start of their dawn Ramadan fast.  Daesh said it had deliberately targeted Shia Muslims by striking the suburb of Karada, implying it drew no distinction between civilians and security forces.  Baghdad has been struck upwards of 1,000 times!

Istanbul, Turkey – 29 June 2016 – At least 41 deaths confirmed; 239 injured – At least three people with guns and suicide vests targeted the arrivals and departures areas at Atatürk international airport, where they sprayed travelers with bullets and then detonated their explosives in a rampage that lasted just a few minutes but killed dozens and injured more than 230 others.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – 02 July 2016 – At least 28 deaths confirmed – Heavily armed attackers held dozens of foreigners and Bangladeshis prisoner in a cafe while hurling bombs and engaging in a gun battle with security forces.  The victims included 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, and two Bangladeshi police officers.  The gunmen, initially firing blanks, ordered restaurant workers to switch off the lights, and they draped black cloths over closed-circuit cameras.  Daesh claimed responsibility.

Medina, Saudi Arabia – 04 July 2016 – 4 confirmed deaths – Suicide bombers killed four Saudi security forces on Monday in an attack outside the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, one of the two holiest sites in Islam, in an escalation not seen for decades.  Earlier that day, Saudi officers foiled an attempted bombing near the US consulate in Jeddah, while a suicide bomber struck a mosque in the Shia-majority province of Qatif shortly before sunset.

Approximately 250 left dead from terrorist attacks, mainly on Muslims in predominantly Muslim countries inside of a week, and there are still many missing in Baghdad as of this writing.  Such terrible tragedy, and yet … and yet, western nations decry that in order to protect themselves from terrorism, all Muslims must be banned.  Who are the victims?  Who are the inhumane?  This is not the first time that the West seems to have shrugged off massacres in predominantly Muslim countries. But the relative indifference after so many deaths caused by the very groups that have plagued the West is more than a matter of hurt feelings. One of the primary goals of Daesh is to drive a wedge between Muslims and the wider world, to use that wedge as a recruiting tool. And when that world appears to show less empathy for the victims of attacks in Muslim nations, who have borne the brunt of Daesh’s massacres and predatory rule, it seems to prove their point. It would appear to play right into their hands. To say that Daesh is primarily targeting the western nations is rather like feeling sorry for yourself because your neighbor’s house caught fire and burned to the ground.  This is not about the west.  This is about Daesh trying to gain, or re-gain, territory in the Muslim world. This is about retaliation for ground lost. And instead of compassion, instead of providing safe haven, the western nations are playing numerous games to pretend that they are the victims and to further endanger the Muslim world.

A Canadian citizen, Hira Saeed of Ottawa, asks why social media had not been similarly filled with the flags of Turkey, Bangladesh and Iraq, as it did for Brussels, Paris and Orlando?  I do not have any answer.  Why, indeed?

In the U.S., there is none other than Donald Trump and his minions calling for a ban on all Muslims and deportation of Muslims currently residing in the U.S.  In the UK, a large part of the reason those who voted to leave the EU did so was because they no longer want to accept Muslim refugees into their country.  In Austria, far-right Freedom Party presidential candidate Norbert Hofer engages in Trump-like anti-Muslim rhetoric to rile the masses into a frenzy of hate against an entire religion.  And throughout Europe and the U.S., anti-Muslim sentiment, Islamophobia, is on the rise.  Certainly there have been terrorist attacks in both the U.S. and Europe, and it is not my intent to minimize these. Many of these, as was the case with the attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida last month, were perpetrated by homegrown or lone-wolf terrorists not connected, or only loosely connected with Daesh.  And yet, the western nations continue to bemoan their bad luck because their neighbor’s house burned to the ground.

Daesh has lost at least half the territory it had gained in recent years, and it is believed that the recent attacks are in retaliation for those losses.  While the west may be targeted from time to time, they are by no means the main target.  Yet instead of compassion, we look upon the victims of these brutalities with hatred.  Instead of a helping hand, our response is a slamming door.  Think about it.

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.

No Blame, Just Solutions

Posted on by under Social commentary

They were unified for centuries under the Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910), and share the same language and essential culture. Yet for the last six decades and more, North Korea and South Korea have been divided. Why do North and South Korea exist where once there stood a unified kingdom?

In the middle of the 19th century, the United States divided along what is known today as the Mason-Dixon line. The divisive issue was slavery, and it led to a war being fought, 620,000 lives lost and indeterminate property damage/loss.

Today we stand at a fissure that seems all but destined to become a chasm, an abyss, in the foreseeable future. As the right moves farther right, the left moves farther left, what is left at center but a hole? Think, if you will, of a rubber band. Use your imagination to pull one end right and the other left. Good. Now pull harder with both hands … pull harder until … SNAP!

The United States Constitution established a government that is durable, flexible and able to rise to most challenges, but it is not infallible. Our government can be broken and is rapidly approaching that point.

It does not much matter which side gave the final tug that broke the rubber band. Both hands got snapped, both were pulling too hard, and both are responsible. That said, one hand or the other by itself cannot fix the rubber band. It will take both hands, working together, to repair the rubber band.

As a nation, we cannot continue to argue over every single issue that confronts us. The immigrant issue, to cite just one example. There is no simple solution. Europe is struggling with the same problems, and the solution is not going to be found in extreme measures such as deporting and barring all immigrants or, on the other hand, accepting unlimited numbers of refugees. The solution, as with almost everything in life, lies in the art of compromise. And make no mistake, compromise is an art, it requires educated, moderate thinkers who are willing to work as a team to make things happen, not the politicians spewing rhetoric from either side of the fence.

Another example is the divisive issue of healthcare. One side would have us deny even basic medical services to anyone who cannot pay the exorbitant fees charged by doctors, laboratories, and pharmaceutical companies while the other lobbies for unlimited healthcare for all, paid for by the wealthiest 1%. Neither is a solution, both are rhetoric, and yes, there is a solution, a happy medium.

On the issue of raising the minimum wage: The current level of $7.25 per hour is below the poverty level for a single person, let alone a family of 4 or more. One side thinks it should not be raised at all, the other calls for a 100% increase to $15 per hour. What if we settle somewhere around $12 per hour? The poverty level for a family of four is currently $28,410 per annum in the U.S., which works out to approximately $11.66 per hour. Some would argue that this is too much to pay a high school student working evenings at McDonalds. Maybe so. Maybe there could be an exclusionary clause to the effect that for people under 18 years of age there is a cap of $9 per hour. Note that I am not proposing this, I am merely throwing out reasonable compromise ideas, which is what members of Congress, republican and democrat alike, should be doing. Instead, they are trying to bring the federal government to a screeching halt by sidling further away from compromise and far more to the extreme outer reaches from which there may be no clear path back toward the center line.

I accept and respect that conservatives will vote for a republican and liberals will vote for a democrat. I accept and respect that we each have different ideologies, values, and beliefs. It is what makes us unique, it is what sets us apart as a nation, and it is not a bad thing. It becomes a bad thing, however, when our divisiveness leads us to hatred, causes us to forget that we are “One Nation, Indivisible … “

Can Religion Really be the Criteria for Humanitarian Aid?

Posted on by under Social commentary

I recently saw a posting on a social media site that asked us to “… stop all American aid to countries that persecute Christians.” While this may sound like a good idea, at least to Christians, or even a “no-brainer” to some, let us think about this for a minute. I have two problems with this statement:

1. What about other religions? Are we saying that we should continue to send aid to countries that persecute, say … Muslims? Jews? Hindis? Are those groups of people less valuable or more expendable than Christians? And how can the government of a secular nation justify denying aid based on a single religion?

2. I am generally in favor of denying military aid to any country wherein the government is guilty of human rights violations of any sort, but humanitarian aid is something else altogether. Since the above statement pleads to deny “all American aid”, one must assume that those in support of this movement would deny both military and humanitarian aid to any country where there is persecution of Christian individuals. When we deny humanitarian aid, we are responsible for people, innocent people who have never persecuted anyone, going without food, clean water, medical care, clothing and shelter. Is this what we, as Americans, believe is the right thing to do?

Certainly, each church, as a non-governmental organization, has a right to decide how and where to spend its money, and what causes to support, but I believe the creator of this post was concerned with the issue of government funds derived from our tax dollars. Our government has imposed sanctions against a number of countries and these sanctions have often included the cessation of humanitarian aid. I believe this sends the wrong message to the world about the values of the U.S. government and its citizens. Granted, we cannot save every starving child, provide medical care to every person in need, but we certainly can do better than to choose to deprive innocent citizens of the world based on the actions of their government against a specific religion.

I am certain that some will make the argument that there are people starving in this country and we should use our tax dollars to help our own citizens first. My answer to this is twofold: a) our government, since the administration of FDR and his New Deal, has provided aid programs to assist with food, shelter, clothing and medical care for all citizens below a certain economic level; and b) any U.S. citizen who is struggling to put food on the table or pay the rent is still a thousand times better off than the poor in any underdeveloped nation.

It is my hope and belief that cooler heads prevail in the decision-making process about who we help and where we send aid. We are all citizens of a global community and have a vested interest in helping every citizen of that larger community, without bias toward religion, race, or cultural heritage. Let us put aside our differences and focus on our likenesses. Let us be the example for the rest of the world.