“Patriotism… Who Am I And Where Do I Belong?”

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July 4th is approaching. People are forced to think about the state of this country, its leadership, the relationships it has with other countries and whether or not its accomplishments are actually a reason to celebrate this holiday, which represents independence and freedom.

As I think about all of this red, white and blue, I ask myself, “What am I celebrating?” Is this holiday really about my people and me? Are African Americans truly considered to be a significant part of this country? In spite of all of the contributions we have made to this country, is our citizenship really worth anything?

When I look at communities overridden with poverty, drugs and a lack of fair and equitable education systems, and legal systems set up to fail people as opposed to help them, the black and brown people in these communities are suffering. The great system is set up to benefit others; yet, it plant seeds of inequality, self-hatred and slavery in our communities. People’s lives look more hopeless than hopeful and day-by-day the picture seems bleaker and darker.

I sit from a perspective of “privilege”, some would say. “You don’t experience these things”’ and “You have beaten the odds”. I wish that were absolutely true, I respond. My skin color makes me no less hated, but my drive to exist and succeed in spite of- is what separates me from others. And while the outside looks polished and stable, my inside is crumbling from seeing my people self destruct because they cannot recognize all of the traps that are being set for them through broken educational systems and cultural “norms” such as music and social media. Our children’s minds are being captured, just as our enslaved ancestors’ bodies were. And although we walk around “free” as if we enjoy the same luxury as others… we are not free; thus, where is the patriotism in that?

This country represents ultimate greed. It bullies other countries and takes their resources. Wars are fought over property…not principle.  Even the wealth that is acquired when we are successful isn’t for Black people. We merely exist in a place where we were dumped after we were stolen. And our true culture and heritage is trampled on and made to seem nonexistent more and more everyday. Black children have nothing to identify with culturally, so who are they? And if they don’t know who they are, then where are they going?

Patriotism… who am I and where do I belong? 

“Patriotism, No T-Shirt Needed”

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Since my childhood, I’ve had an unadulterated love and support for all my respective sports teams, all of which hail from the DC area. Sadly, outside presidential inaugurations, there haven’t been any parades going down Pennsylvania Ave in quite some time. Like all fans of a respective team, we’re fans of the team, not every aspect of the team. We question player transactions, hiring of coaches, even supporting changing a certain team’s name. (More about that later on.) In the final analysis, wanting better and questioning the ways and means of your team isn’t the characteristic of a non-fan, it’s the opposite.    

So, what does sports fandom have to do with patriotism? In a sense, if you replaced the word fan with patriot in the aforementioned paragraph, all the elements stay true. By definition, patriotism is the vigorous support for one’s country. By definition, a fan is one who is enthusiastically devoted to something or somebody. In my example I used sports fandom to illustrate how it comes with both criticism of your team as well as support for said team. As a fan, being critical of a team, is something as unifying around a team as cheering for a team (see Randy Quaid as Johnny in “Major League II”).

Being a patriot on the other hand, for some, does not engage in critical discussions about their nation. I’ve noticed post 9/11 the term patriotism used as a shield to fend off the need to address and solve real issues and problems. Typically coming from conservative and republican circles, patriotism is many times used as a political guilt trip. The goal being one should feel ashamed for their reason for it goes against the essence of the nation. If that fails, the “If you don’t like it, you should just leave”, standard becomes the last resort.

Being critical of one’s nation is not a loss of patriotism. This is nonsense. Disagreeing with another person on their views of the nation is not grounds to question their patriotism.  

Much like a fan wants best for their team, a patriot should want what’s best for their nation. What’s best for the nation is a little harder amongst social political topics than sports, for the end game isn’t as clear. Thus why many deflect to terms like “if you don’t like it, you should leave”. To figure out the needs of a nation, it requires real work, research, dialogue, and the inevitable debate.  In sports for example, at the time of this writing my beloved Washington Nationals are having the time of their lives trying to save games. So the solution is the need for a closer. Regarding social political issues, it’s not as cut and dry. Standard national issues like healthcare, the environment, and education are contentious and divisive. What each issue means to all citizens and how in the most sensible and feasible way it comes into fruition requires a process. A baseball save is very much defined, something my Nationals seem to have a hard time with; however, it’s still very much defined.

Convenient Advocacy

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On June 20, 2017, a 17-year old Muslim girl named Nabra Hassanen was beaten to death in Northern Virginia after she left the mosque during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. She was walking with friends when she got into an argument with a driver, who later beat her to death with a baseball bat and threw her body into a pond. Most news outlets called this “an act of road rage,” not a hate crime, as people had initially speculated. As expected, this became a prominent news story in the Muslim community. Considering a large percentage of my social media contacts are Muslim, I saw this story being shared on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other group chats. Understandably, people were upset that a Muslim teenager was killed in an everyday situation that could’ve easily been them or one of their relatives. Regardless of whether or not this was actually a hate crime, most Muslims were extremely concerned. A fellow Muslim was murdered unjustly, and there was outrage from much of the Muslim community.

Less than 24 hours after Nabra Hassanen was murdered, a pregnant African-American woman named Charleena Lyles was killed in Seattle, Washington by two white police officers. She had called the police because she suspected a burglary. Because Lyles wielded a knife when they arrived, the two officers shot and killed her in front of three of her young children. Lyles had been dealing with mental health issues prior to her murder. As expected, this became a hot topic in the African-American community. This is obviously not the first time an African-American civilian has been killed unjustly by a white law enforcement official, nor will it be the last. The African-American community I am connected with was understandably furious about Lyles’ murder, and many of them were vocal about her murder on social media. A fellow African-American was murdered unjustly, and there was outrage from much of the their community.

The murders of Nabra Hassanen and Charleena Lyles did not occur under the same circumstances, nor are their facts comparable. There are bigger questions to explore regarding both of them (i.e. defining a hate crime, mental health issues, etc.). But I found it extremely notable that the groups of outspoken advocates for Hassanen and Lyles, respectively, did not seem to overlap at all. The Muslims I know were speaking out about Hassanen’s murder, and the African-American people I know were speaking out about Lyles’ murder. It was rare to see a Muslim speaking out about Lyles or an African-American speaking out about Hassanen.

It makes logical sense that minority groups are concerned about issues that directly affect them and their communities. As a Muslim student, hearing about the murder of a Muslim student hits home because I could picture myself as Nabra Hassanen. In the same way, an African-American mother could probably see herself as Charleena Lyles. While the specific details of both murders do not align, there is a common thread: two people of minority groups were killed unjustly by members of a different group. Many people who spoke out on either incident claimed to be standing up for justice, but their advocacy is convenient for them. Convenient advocacy will not be effective when trying to engage in social reform. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” As humans, can we really say we stand up for justice if we are only concerned about injustice in our own communities? 

Trump or Comey, Who’s More Credible?

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Comey’s testimony a few weeks ago didn’t necessarily open any new lines of questions or give any new answers that were all that different than what I think most people knew or assumed before- that James Comey was fired as FBI director for some combination of lack of loyalty to the President, or because the President simply wanted to devote less time to the Russia investigation (which then could be because it could lead to him, or because for this President, he feels a duty to defend his team members loyally even if they are wrong).

 The immediate conversation is about whether the President did or did not lie, whether Comey did or did not lie, multiple layers of unprovable statements and their intents, and some statements and questions about tapes (which both parties refer to but act as though they don’t have).  There’s no apparent smoking gun- at least not one that rises to a level of taking legal action against the President that wasn’t there before.  My immediate reflection is taking two individuals and contrasting their service and what that means for the direction of the country.

 Comey has been repeatedly described as a “showboater” and “grandstander”, and there may have been some cause for that.  A cynic’s view could be that he has a high opinion of himself.  Another could be that he has a high opinion of his ideals- or rather that he is uncompromising.   If that makes him a “nut job” that he has ideals that he values more than himself, that probably isn’t that much different than many of the best career civil servants.  His testimony struck the tone of someone who feels as though his credibility has been called into question, and wished to come off first and foremost as honest and doing his best in a bad situation.  There are plenty of people on both sides of the aisles who question his judgments and who’ve said that he had no business making his statements publicly in many of his most famous exchanges- each of which would more traditionally have been made by the Attorney General (a role that he also has a clear concept of having served as Deputy and Acting Attorney General), but in both cases where both a Democratic and Republican Attorney General had decided to recuse themselves.  One could argue that his job was made much harder by two Attorney Generals who had become part of the investigations they were put in place to prosecute.

 I am struck by the President’s complete inability to understand or manage such people in public service.  In his past career, being the leader meant he was the guy writing the checks, and people listened or he stopped writing the checks.  People wanted the checks, because that’s why they were there- for the paycheck, and if there was a bigger one out there, they might go for that instead.  The President puts a premium on loyalty.  Perhaps that’s because in business, it’s his against others’ business, or market forces or other constituents- and within the spectrum of his business, it is fine to have common ground and focus first on your own team (within the limits of the law).

But being President is different.  Of the next 50 job opportunities Director Comey will have, it’s quite possible that FBI director pays the least, and that’s probably true of 95% of all Senate-confirmed appointees.  They serve at the pleasure of the President, but most are there not out of a sense of personal loyalty to him, but because they believe his administration has values similar enough to their own that within it they can provide a level of service that they value more than the other job opportunities they forgo.  And when put to the test and forced to pick between any one man and their ideals, they very often pick their ideals.  So what I was most struck by during this testimony is how odd it was that the President thought firing Director Comey (or mentioning to him that he would like those investigations to away) would have any positive impact on helping the President’s agenda.  It showed me a fundamental lack of understanding as to why all public servants seek and keep their offices in the first place- and that made me wonder (as I have in the past) why he is also serving.  Why does personal loyalty matter if all are working in selfless service to the nation?  The media will spend the next few weeks on “gotchas” that aren’t “gotchas”.  What I would rather focus on are how the President and members of all sides of Congress choose with their words and actions where they place their own loyalty- to Americans, to their parties, or to their own factions?  What I saw from Director Comey was a guy that doesn’t always get it right, and he’s struggling with that.  I also saw a number of Senators looking for self-interested quote opportunities, and a President who still doesn’t even seem to understand what motivates the leaders of his own organization.

Kushner’s Miserable Peace Prospects

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Last week I saw a headline that read “Kushner’s First Foray into MidEast Peace Reveals Challenges Ahead.” Wow. Breaking News: Trump’s son-In-Law finds out Middle East peace is hard. What a shocker.

It continues to amaze me that Jared Kushner, the real estate-heir whose only real qualifications are being born into the right family and marrying well, has such an immense policy portfolio. In fact, Jared Kushner is responsible for so much of the Trump Administration’s agenda that CNN has jokingly referred to him as “Trump’s Secretary of Everything.” When you consider all the policy areas that Mr. Kushner is probably the least equipped to handle, foreign policy is definitely in the top two (healthcare reform is arguably the other as it increasingly seems that no one in the Trump administration understands or cares how the American healthcare system works). Yet, somehow with no diplomatic experience, no background in the region’s complicated political history, and no evidence that he has a substantive grasp of geopolitics, the 36-year-old is one of the Administration’s defacto lead diplomats and is somehow in charge of brokering Middle East Peace.  (And he’s the subject of the ever-widening federal investigation, but that’s a topic for another piece.)

The headline quoted above might actually be a little generous to Kushner. His trip to the Middle East to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and advisors didn’t just reveal challenges. It seems to have failed miserably. Kushner met with Abbas in Ramallah as part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to jumpstart peace negotiations that have been stalled since the assault on the Gaza Strip in 2014. He then proceeded to accost Abbas for not condemning an attack on Israeli soldiers, and according to Palestinian officials, merely listed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s demands “and acted like Netanyahu’s advisors instead of a fair arbiter.”

“Greatly disappointed”, “tense”, and “furious” are just some of the buzzwords appearing in Arab and Israeli newspapers regarding the meeting. If the Trump Administration can’t get both sides to see them as a neutral party then peace talks are DOA. Perhaps putting someone with actual experience and knowledge of the conflict might be a step in the right direction.  

 

“Patriotism Is A Dirty Word”

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When I was asked to define my patriotism, I initially laughed. I honestly can’t tell you the reason I laughed other than realizing the word patriotism makes me feel uncomfortable, but I couldn’t really explain why. Then I thought about it, and I remember when I officially broke up with patriotism.

Back in August 2016, NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick made headlines for kneeling during the national anthem before a game. Social media was going nuts, and I remember seeing a post on my timeline about Kaepernick being a coward and a disgrace. The post went on to say that Kaepernick’s actions were basically a spit in the face to true patriots like Pat Tillman. To refresh your memory, Pat Tillman was the military vet who turned down an NFL contract to enlist in the military after 9/11.

Please don’t get me wrong. I have so much respect for the women and men of the military. Anyone who is willing to take the chance and sacrifice their life and the life of their family to defend others deserves our utmost respect. They put their own wellbeing in the hands of a government they individually may or may not agree with; yet, they follow orders to protect our lives. That’s amazing.

However, I also think it’s amazing that someone like Colin Kaepernick is willing to put his own well-being on the line for a cause that was sensationalized, and then ignored. The Black Lives Matter movement was like a pawn to the media. They used it for clicks and views and then when the story died down, they moved on to the next. Kaepernick was using his platform to bring awareness in the simplest way and now he’s not only out of a job, but they called him names and belittled his character. All because he didn’t stand for a song that is itself racist! (Reference to Francis Scott Key and the third stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner.)

I don’t think patriotism is an inclusive word. Patriotism in my mind is the nemesis of progress. I recently heard someone call Mitch McConnell a patriot, and that honestly made me laugh out loud. Is this the same Mitch McConnell who was considered an obstructionist during the Obama administration? If you ask me, he should be the face of patriotism.

Now I know why my face twists up when I hear the word patriotism. It’s because the examples I’ve seen of patriotism are always used to belittle someone who’s trying to make progress. It’s kind of like a dirty word. I could also just be one of those millennials. You know… the ones who don’t like to be labeled or put into a box. It’s not that I hate the word; I’m just ambivalent about it. Instead of celebrating the Patriots, I’ll celebrate the humanitarians, the people who put others first. That seems more American to me.  

Similar Read: American Democracy: A Paradox

Correcting the Department of “Corrections”?

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“Wake the f#%k up B!tc#es or y’all ain’t gonna eat sh!t” was the first thing I heard the correction officer scream as she banged on my cell door.  It was my first night in my jail cell and the first of many where I would wonder how to keep my cool and stay positive until I was free again.  Our everyday ritual:  wake up to verbal assaults, eat deplorable food, roam a confined area while avoiding trouble, get locked back into a cell for “count”, return to roaming, and repeat.  Through this daily routine, I mostly stayed quiet and tried to avoid trouble.  Staying out of trouble was hard when there were about 130 women confined into a multi-purpose room.  Not to mention, there were no resources offered to help them deal with whatever issues and actions that led their imprisonment.  “G-Unit” was filled with a few Correction Officers and a variety of inmates-mostly women of color, and a lot of pride, anger, and fear from both groups, just masked in different uniforms.   

When I was first assigned to “G-unit”, I had no idea what to expect.  I soon realized that it was a predator and prey environment, and I was the prey. The new inmates in the unit were deemed as “fresh meat,” and we were hazed by the older inmates. That’s when I was introduced to my predator; I’ll refer to her as Chrissy.  She was 19 years old and had a high-pitched, squeaky voice.  Like prison norm, she tried to intimidate the new inmates with her tough demeanor, but in doing so all of her insecurities were obvious.  We exchanged heavy words on my 2nd day over hot water, but interestingly enough she left me alone when I did not back down.  Chrissy was released and came back just three days later, and from the looks of it she was happy to be back in the place where she had a bed and food. I soon noticed a cycle that was prevalent and would unfortunately continue.   

My cellmate was great example of someone stuck in this cycle, lets call her Tish.  Through hours of talking, I found out that she was a 47-year-old woman who had been in and out of jail since she was 19.  When she was younger she used drugs to cope with some very deep issues, and in her “escape” she found herself in a bad situation with a cop that resulted with her being arrested for the first time.  She was funny, battled with depression, and had found herself in custody a number of times since her first arrest.  

Looking at these two women with almost three decades in age difference, (my predator Chrissy and cellmate Tish) I started to pay attention to the system that does not correct these woman, but instead makes them slaves to the system.  Tish, since her first time in custody, was never thoroughly evaluated nor understood the issues that led to the petty crimes she committed.  Instead, she was locked up and not offered services or resources that could’ve helped her rejoin society and prevent her return.  She could’ve become a productive member to society with a future that wouldn’t have included repeat offenses.  Tish needed help at 19 and she needed it when we shared a cell at 47.  Regrettably, the system was not built to help correct her behaviors or handle the emotions that led to crime.  However, it has provided a space for her to continuously harbor ill feelings and practices that have inevitably led to her prevalent cycle.

The prison system in the Unites States brings in inmates like Chrissy and keeps them like Tish.  The environment promotes complacency with no opportunity to improve.  An inmate like Chrissy has found a place that unlike the outside world will feed, clothe, and provide shelter for her.  It doesn’t teach her how to obtain these things for herself.  Therefore, for her jail is a good option as it gives her what she needs.  On the other hand, it’s a heavy burden on taxpayers, and it doesn’t reap the necessary benefits. Three decades from now, Chrissy and Tish might be cellmates. They’re both caught in the prevalent cycle, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll find their way out of it. The Department of Corrections does not “correct” anything. In fact, it prevents individuals from understanding their underlying issues, addressing those challenges, and changing their behavior and mindset to become productive members of society.  Either we redefine what the “Department of Corrections” looks like, or we change the name to something that is not a lie.

“A Mother’s Dream For Change: Taking the First Step Into The Unknown”

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My mom hated guests, guests that came with their sons who were looking for a “good” bride to bring home so she could cook, clean, and have dozens of children. My mom could see her entire life flash before her eyes if she was to remain in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for much longer. She had shared her concerns with her father, a man who took a practical approach to life and who could clearly see his daughter’s displeasure. Knowing the severe pushback, he was about to receive from my grandmother on the course of action he was going to take, my grandfather bought a one-way ticket for my mom to London and presented it to her early one morning. “Take this and go make something of your life,” My grandfather said. My mother was shocked, she knew how big of a deal this was… for a Sikh man to give his daughter a literal key to be free and to live life on her own terms. “She hugged my grandfather thanking him for this once in a lifetime opportunity, packed her bags and took the first step to creating a life for herself. That first step brought her to London, where she studied nursing and became a LPN (licensed practical nurse).

While exploring the wonders of England my mom met my father who was also working at the same hospital. The both worked overtime and fell in love, got married, to moved to Canada where my sister was born. After 8 years they moved to America, where I was born. This journey around the world made my parents experience a lot of different systems and cultures that were the identity of each respective nation. My mother will never forget the reception she received when she first walked into New York. “It was a dream come true to finally pass the numerous tests and interviews and immigration itself to know that this is where my son will be born. This is where he will grow up and find the path he needs to take to make his own life, on his own terms.” And she never let me forget it, the hardships that she and my father had to go through to get my sister and I here.

Her one piece of great advice for me was that you are born here, but too many of you will still be considered a foreigner. You need to push harder and educate yourself as high as you can to be the best you can be, because no one is ever going to give you anything. Being Indian and following the Sikh faith has taught me that all too well within the last decade. I remember the struggles of my parents and with each day I find new ways to better myself and work with organizations that promote awareness and the importance of the diversity in America. Being part of these organizations gives people like myself the opportunity to show the nation that there is nothing to fear about immigrants. That the land of the free was built on the blood, sweat, and tears of immigrants, and that only together can WE make this nation great again.