Writing

I received a disturbing e-mail on a fan list I'm a part of, taking issue with a Muslim woman in Florida who was allowed to take a driver's license photo in her burka. It also went a lot farther than that, invoking hatred of immigrants and dissidents, and making ridiculously untrue claims about American history. In my anger, I wrote a lengthy response, which several people suggested I post. So here it is.... Excerpts from the original message are in bold.


I'm not so much offended as I am shocked that a fellow Goo fan would take stock in such misinformed and hateful rhetoric. I'm sure the Goos themselves would be shocked as well, to see their fans spreading ignorance and divisiveness. It's just un-American.

I don't mind offending anyone with my response. If you are offended by the facts, perhaps you should reconsider your personal biases.

As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle.

What is American culture, exactly? Take a look at "All-American" food.... Pizza is Italian, hamburgers German, and even good ol' apple pie is Dutch. What about "American" music? Rock 'n' Roll grew from Jazz, which has its roots in West African music. American English is a mishmash of words from many different languages. The pages of our fashion magazines show us Italian designers on the runways of Paris. Most of our posessions are manufactured overseas.

And whose culture is this? What society exactly? East Coast lifestyle is very different than West Coast lifestyle. The lifestyle in the North is very different from the lifestyle in the South. But a more pressing issue is the gaping chasm between the lifestyle of the rich and the lifestyle of the poor. If you believe in the idealistic suburban American Dream, you are very sadly mistaken. Many Americans can't even afford the white picket fence, let alone the house in the suburbs. As the chasm widens, levels of drugs, violence, crime, illness, and other preventable problems increases. Whose responsibility is it to fix these problems, in "American Culture?"

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!

I studied anthropology for four years at two different universities in the US and Britain. EVERY wave of immigration, from every part of the world follows the same pattern. The vast majority of first generation adults -- the people who came here as adults from somewhere else -- do not learn English. Those who do speak English usually learned it in their country of origin, or were well-educated and had experience learning new languages. Some first-generation children learn English, some do not. Most second-generation (born here) people learn English and their parents' language, speaking both fluently. ALL third-generation people speak English and sometimes their grandparents' language. Every wave of immigration has been demonized because of their "stupidity" or "refusal" to learn english.

Imagine that you have fled an opressive situation that you had to deal with your whole life, you've left behind most of your family and everything you've ever known, forever, you're probably not well-educated, and you have to bust your ass working round-the-clock to feed your family. Is it going to be easy to learn an entirely new language? No. That's why you encourage your children to learn. This happens with EVERY immigrant group in US history. Why aren't we used to it by now? Because the people bitching about those damn immigrants who don't speak English are usually only third or fourth generation themselves. Unfortunately, it often happens that a group persecuted in one generation will turn around and be the persecutors of the next.

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan.

Actually, it is. "In God We Trust" was selected as a national motto in 1953 to differentiate the US from the "Godless Communists." It was included in the design of our money to eqauate capitalism with Godliness, and induce the unconscious belief that spending money is a sacred act.

We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented.

Many of the people who founded America came here to flee religious persecution in Europe, and valued highly freedom of religion. Indeed, they were Christian, but they did not write the Bill of Rights to include freedom of religion for Christians, they wrote it to include freedom of religion for all Americans. Based on their experience of corrupt government and opressive religion, they realized that separation of church and state is vital to the proper functioning of both.

But if you want to talk about Christian principles, let's talk about respect, humility, charity, kindness, compassion, and brotherly love. Christ said to love everybody. Including immigrants.

It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.

God does not offend me, but the idea that our children must "trust" in something written on a wall, that offends me. Why not educate them to the point where they can choose for themselves who or what to trust? Many horrible crimes have been committed in the name of God -- including 9-11. Does that make them permittable? We want our children to grow up to be good human beings, rather than trusting a slogan on a wall.

We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change.

I guess you haven't noticed how many Americans are actually very UNhappy. Millions of Americans are depressed, have mental illnesses, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, drinking problems, addictions, and a whole slew of other problems that occur at a much lower frequency in the rest of the world. Maybe we SHOULD think about changing that good ol' American lifestyle so we can all be a lot happier.

This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle.

Again, whose exactly? By "our" do you mean the lifestyle of Hollywood celebrities? Or the lifestyle of working-class people in Detroit? Are you talking about upper-middle-class people in the suburbs of Boston, or the lifestyle of farmers in Idaho? Maybe you mean the lifestyle of wealthy Texas oil families, or perhaps people below the poverty line in Appalachia? How about the lifestyle of teenage single mothers in the inner cities? Wall Street moneymakers or trailer park mechanics? Who are we talking about here? I won't even bring race into the equation. A lot of people do a lot of harping on American unity, when it seems to me that it's just a mask to hide the deep injustices we harbor here in our own country. I won't even mention the deep injustices we perpetuate globally. If we were truly unified, would we allow so many red-blooded, good-hearted Americans to fall through the cracks of poverty, illness, and despair?

I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

Actually, that's not a right at all. It requires a lot of money and a lengthy process to travel legally to another country, and it's very difficult for an American citizen to get a job elsewhere, let alone emigrate. I know. I tried to emigrate to Britain, but I'm stuck here in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

If you agree -- pass this along; if you don't agree -- delete it!

What? You're scared that if somebody reads this and takes issue with it, they will actually have an intelligent argument back? Sorry, not every American is as ignorant as the author of this drivel. Unfortunately, it is precisely this blend of arrogance and ignorance that enraged terrorists enough to destroy the symbols of our economic domination. And it is precisely this blend of selfishness and hubris is leading our nation into a war that will leave no American free from the death and suffering of family members and friends. Attacking Iraq will only lead to more terrorism, and more terrorism will only lead to more war. Whose lifestyle is it now? The lifestyle of the pilot who drops bombs on innocent children for revenge, or the lifestyle of the pilot who uses a hijacked plane as a weapon for revenge? Where will it end?