Spring Break
Religious fear mongering is un-American
Furrah Qureshi
Issue date: 10/24/08 Section: Ed-Op
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We have a history of hatred and a habit of discrimination. These uncouth events have all been allowed to happen in times of trouble. For example, under the guise of public safety, thousands of Japanese Americans were imprisoned in internment camps during World War II. The civil liberties of a few were compromised for the safety of many - this philosophy has been repeatedly promulgated throughout history. All of the racism of the past seems so awful in retrospect; yet history has consistently repeated itself, choosing one scapegoat after another. Today is no exception.
American Muslims have now found themselves answering to the American public for the actions of few. An entire religion is being held accountable for an injustice committed by just a few of its members. Directly after 9/11, the country united as a whole in a miraculous way. But, at the same time, many in Washington used the shock from the horrible incident as a political tactic of fear mongering. In this post-9/11 era, the Patriot Act was swiftly passed along with its suppression of civil rights; the attack also paved the way for the Bush doctrine of "preventive strike" to take effect, most notably with the Iraq War. Could these two things have happened if 9/11 never happened?
Let's be clear, I have no conspiracy theories about 9/11. I think the attack was despicable - I extend feelings of sorrow to anyone who has been affected by a death from that day and feelings of anger towards anyone who participated in such a heinous crime. I'm sure most people share both of those feelings - and that is why the tactic of fear mongering has been so effective for politicians.
The post-9/11 sentiment has clouded the realm of clear thinking. State and federal-level elections have swayed even further from the issues and seem to circulate on whom the "better American" is, or which candidate possesses the most patriotism. But even more convoluted is this false notion of patriotism. What exactly is Washington's definition of a patriot? Is it a hot-headed, blind-faithed, gullible, angry pawn of politics? I know patriots, and none of them are like that. The reason that we should respect our country is because it is one of the only that allows criticism and questioning.
Asking questions and challenging the government that serves us does not make us unpatriotic - not doing so does. In this current definition of patriotism, the country does not unify as one nation, but as a conformist society that vilifies opposing viewpoints. In essence, a vote against the Iraq War does not constitute anti-patriotism.
Politicians can no longer scare Americans into voting for candidates. The fears have already become a reality. Exorbitant prices on consumer goods, a negative world view of the U.S., a trillion-dollar deficit, job losses, wage cuts, global market depression - everything we should have feared became a reality while we were too busy fearing the things that were never real at all. The culture of fear has obviously contributed to our downturn, so why don't we ever learn? The Great Depression of the '30s was caused by bad credit and a loss of confidence, the very same catalyst for this year's crisis.
I'm equally concerned with our inability to learn economic lessons as I am with our inability to learn moral lessons.
According to a study conducted by Ball State University, "The FBI data suggests a 1,600 percent surge in anti-Islamic hate crimes in the days following the Sept. 11 attacks."
The reason this is still relevant is because it has become the latest attempt from choice Republicans to scare voters to the polls. Anne Coulter's habit of addressing Sen. Obama as "B. Hussein" is not as detrimental to Obama as it is to the Muslim community. This is the aspect that nobody will talk about. John McCain himself, a politician that I have respect for, chided his supporters at rallies for unjustly categorizing Obama. But neither he, nor most left-wing pundits, chose to point out that it is a point of shame that a race of people or a religion of people would be used as an insult. Obama's campaign thus tackles race in an entirely new way. It brings to light the outright ignorance and hatred against this group which lacks the media foothold or the lobbyism to properly defend itself.
"Obsession," a propagandist DVD made to influence the election, has been inciting ill will towards the Muslim community. Sept. 26, about a week after the DVD had been mailed all over the country, a "chemical irritant" was sprayed through a window of a Dayton Ohio Mosque. Around 300 people were gathered for Ramadan prayers. The chemical came into direct contact with the children who were sitting in the nursery. The Dayton Police ruled that this was not a hate crime, and the mainstream media has yet to pick up this gruesome story. I ask you to reconsider who you think the terrorists really are.
But while I spent the previous week mulling over the dank state of the nation, a genuinely good thing happened. Colin Powell crossed party lines in this era of bitter partisanship to declare his support for Obama and his repugnance towards the fear mongering of a few of the Republican leaders. Maintaining that he was a Republican, he lent his credibility in foreign policy as well as executive work to Sen. Obama. He gravely expressed his dismay at the political environment of alleged "patriotism" and said what nobody else would: that being a Muslim is by no means a point of degradation, and, "If you're an American, you're an American." Colin Powell, a politician that I have disagreed with many a time, summed up exactly what I feel a truly patriotic nation is: "Our great strength is in our unity and in our diversity."
Furrah Qureshi is a sophomore majoring in English. She can be reached at op-ed@thetriangle.org.
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