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This is all that needs to be said. |
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“Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That’s not America. Is there something wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion that he is a Muslim and might have an association with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
I feel particularly strong about this because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay, was of a mother at Arlington Cemetery and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone, and it gave his awards - Purple Heart, Bronze Star - showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death, he was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the head stone, it didn’t have a Christian cross. It didn’t have a Star of David. It has a crescent and star of the Islamic faith.
And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was fourteen years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could serve his country and he gave his life.”
- Colin Powell
This picture presents a cognitive dissonance for me. On the one hand, it confirms everything I believe about tolerance and fighting prejudice. But on the other hand, it stands in stark contrast with my belief in non-violence. It always has and always will bug me that military service is held up as the supreme and definitive way to serve your country - even if it’s in a war that most Americans no longer think was a good idea. I’d like to see a picture of a young American Muslim who is giving his or her life in service as a teacher, social worker, community organizer, etc.
Jim,
Get a grip. Your little statement on war had no place in this thread. You make think otherwise and that thread this presented the perfect opportunity for you to write about your perception of war and also your little shtick on non-violence. This kid did serve his country. I’d like to see his picture. His picture is the reason those teachers can teach and you and I can write nonsense on some fucking blog. Good day.
- Buddy “46″ Ryan
While our nation has fought wars that have guaranteed our rights and freedoms, we have also fought some that have had nothing at all to do with these things. Do you really believe that if the US had not gone to war in Iraq, our teachers would no longer be able to teach and the freedom of the press would no longer exist?
I have respect and sympathy for those who have died in Iraq and for their families, but it is a mistake to say that every conflict the US finds itself in is a struggle to preserve our very way of life. Sometimes a war is just a war, and it’s fought for reasons that are not worth the sacrifices of the soldiers that fight them.