Flinging dirt

Tragedy can either bring out the best of people or the worst. When all the dirt shakes loose it naturally distributes a bit of both. I’ve seen a lot of  dirt in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing. Years from now, when looking back at the tragedy I’m not sure whether the dirt left behind will nourish hope and understanding or whether it sullies the  nation’s  collective heart with fear, divisiveness and retributive zeal.

Some of the “dirt” I’m referring to is the intensity of the Islamophobia fervor I’ve witnessed recently. Reports of Muslims being singled out for angry rants and even physical violence have become commonplace. Apparently some citizens invoke the “guilty by association” paradigm, particularly when it applies to members of the “other” group(s) of people. The “other” referring to anyone who does not fall within the individual’s self identified group. In this particular case I am referring to the dominant group in America: White male Christians.

In  all fairness, any marginalized group in America can readily invoke the spirit of Islamophobia. All it takes is the willingness to participate in reductionism: : “a procedure or theory that reduces complex data and phenomena to simple terms.”(from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reductionism)

An illustration of reductionism can be found in the words of Fox News guest commentator Erik Rush; who-- before any official reports came out stating the bombers were Muslim, made the following rant  on Twitter ““Yes, they’re evil. (Muslims)  Let’s kill them all.”

According to Rush, and many individuals like him, all Muslims are evil because a small minority have done terrible things. This is the antithesis of rational thought because it discounts the majority of the world’s Muslim population that live peacefully. It also denies the reality that people of other religions; including Christianity, have committed violence. I trust that I don’t have to provide a  list of  historical atrocities perpetrated by Christians around the world to drive that point home.

What is significant here is not the particular words used. One can find similar words on the lips of various  people who  fear Muslims and blame them collectively for the Marathon bombings and other acts of terrorism. What I am addressing here is the fact that Rush mouthed the sentiments and is—himself--, an African American and member of a population that has historically been subjugated, stereotyped and scapegoated  in America.

Let’s not just spotlight African Americans because similar views prosper in many minority groups across the nation. I have heard disparaging comments about Muslims in various immigration reform groups on the internet. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard words such as “Why do immigrants get punished due to the actions of Muslims” or “Why can’t the government deport all the Muslims and leave the rest of the immigrant community alone. After all, we didn’t bomb anybody.” 

This divisiveness punishes us all who fight for immigration reform. If one individual from an “other” group does something bad then it taints us all because White Male America makes no distinctions. White Male America loves it when one minority group points the finger and blames the “other” because this divisiveness ensures that they remain in control.

If those of us who support immigration reform want to make any significant improvements in the lives of immigrants and their families we need to stop pointing the finger at each other. Collectively we are in the majority and White Male America knows this. They love the finger pointing. They even encourage it.

We are all interconnected. No amount of “dirt” flung at us will change that. We can choose to pick up the dirt flung at us and throw it at someone else or we can take that dirt and use it to nourish something beautiful. Let us choose wisely.

PRI: The World interview

The radio broadcast of my interview with PRI The World aired yesterday. If you would like to hear it just click on the link below. (Hopefully it will work...I don't always have luck with Blogger's linking tool). The article features two other extraordinary and lovely ladies going through a similar experience: Giselle Stern-Hernandez and Emily Cruz.

They basically did a very good job portraying the lives of American citizens dealing with deportation and separation. A few characterizations were flawed but with the complexities inherent in the U.S. immigration system this is to be expected.

So, give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Just copy and paste the following address in you browser..that should get you to the interview.


http://www.theworld.org/2011/09/deportees-wives-club/

Let me introduce you to......

….John Tanton. A retired, small town ophthalmologist, John Tanton’s appearance is not particularly extraordinary or noteworthy. His interests include botany, conservationism and environmentalism. No one would guess that he regularly fraternizes with white nativists, neo- Nazis and white supremacists.. Regardless of this innocuousness, John Tanton is an unapologetic white nationalist.

According to Wikipedia-“White nationalism advocates a racial definition of national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. The contemporary movement is a reaction to a perceived decline in white demographics, politics and culture.” According to Samuel Francis, it is ‘a movement that rejects equality as an ideal and insists on an enduring core of human nature transmitted by heredity.’"

Samuel Huntington elaborates:, “Rather than espouse violence, they use statistics and social science data to argue for a self-conscious white identity.[ They say a natural hierarchy should triumph over the ‘false promise of egalitarianism’- and that the downfall of white dominance spells doom for representative government, the rule of law and freedom of speech.”

“Supporters say they stand for racial self-preservation and claim culture itself is a product of race. As a result, according to Huntington, they say the demographic shift in the U.S. towards non-whites brings a new culture that is intellectually and morally inferior. With it comes affirmative action, immigrant ghettos and declining educational standards. By challenging established policy on immigration, civil rights and racial integration, they seek to build bridges with moderately conservative white citizens.”

Now, I am not going to waste time identifying the inconsistencies, analytical errors and racist ideology of eugenics,” natural” hierarchy, and the illusion of a invariable white identity. Instead, I am concerned with illuminating John Tanton’s influence on anti-immigration rhetoric in this country. He has been an integral force for enacting the harsh and stringent immigration laws of the last fourteen years and has fuelled the conflated moral panic directed against legal and illegal immigrants in this country—and based his conclusions on unsubstantiated statistics.

Additionally, I won’t enlist the contemporary tendency to cloak the ugly face of racism with artificial, cosmetic concealment in order to make it palatable to the general public. Despite rants to the contrary, white nationalists are racist-- in every abhorrent characteristic of the term. A snake is a snake regardless of the semantics he may use to disguise his identity.

As a proponent of white nationalism, John Tanton established the largest and arguably most influential anti-immigrant group in the country called FAIR. The goal of FAIR is to restrict and significantly curtail immigration, particularly from those of the southern hemisphere. While their website seems innocuous enough, the underlying goal of FAIR is the banishment of all supposedly--unassimiable black and brown immigrants from this country, and the subsequent re-establishment of America as a predominately white nation.

In fact, the recently passed Arizona law SB 1070 was formed, written and implemented by John Tanton along with other well known white nationalist: including Arizona senator Russell Pearce and Kris Kobach. John Tanton also had a hand in shaping the Arizona law that prohibits ethnic studies from being taught in public schools.

So, the next time someone asks me if I think the Arizona law SB 1070 is racist, I can unequivocally, confidently and vehemently shout YES………absolutely yes!!

Another trip to Albany

This past Monday we travelled once again to Albany New York and paid a visit to the office of Homeland Security. After being kept waiting for hours during some of our previous visits we decided that we weren't ever going to give them the opportunity to detain us for an entire day--so we now arrive around 2:00-3:00 PM. That gives Homeland Security only 1-2 hours of our time to waste before the office closes at 4 in the afternoon.

We were not left waiting very long on this particular visit. After only about 10 minutes Khalid's deportation officer came out. Curiously, she came right out and sat opposite us in the waiting room. She usually meets us in the waiting room, however, it was curious that she sat down. Normally she stands up when she speaks to us.

She seemed very relaxed and spoke in a casual manner. She told us that there were no new developments. They haven't procured the travel documents and it was unlikely that they would. She even added that the Indian consulate won't even return her phone calls. I thought it very curious that she divulged that bit of information.

She asked about Khalid's work permit and he mentioned that he had received it. Then she turned to me and started asking me about my work. I wasn't inclined to maintain a long conversation--why? Well..because conversing with a deportation officer is akin to speaking to a police officer while you are under arrest: "anything you say can and will be held against you..." It's best to keep answers short and sweet.

Another curious thing occurred at the end of the meeting. She told us that if it was necessary, to come back in six months. Then she warmly shook my husband's hand and then my hand and said take care.

We were both shocked because she had never shook our hands before but had always maintained a professional, assertive and detached demeanor. My husband and i spent a substantial portion of the drive back to Utica contemplating these strange happenings. We both agreed it felt as if she was saying goodbye--but why?

Was she planning on leaving Homeland Security? It is no secret that employees who work for Homeland Security have low job satisfaction.

Are they going to be transferring Khalid to a Syracuse office? She has mentioned that its a possibility that a DHS/ICE office may be opening up in Syracuse.

Or does she have an inclination that the waiver may be approved? She did mention that the excludability waiver has the best chance of being approved.

We will just have to wait to find out. In the meantime Khalid and I will look forward to the upcoming Summer season without having to fear separation. That is a blessing beyond measure!

Alien Nation

This blog post is about a horrific book entitled Alien Nation by a conservative journalist named Peter Brimelow. It was a bestseller when it was published in the year 1995. It is no coincidence that the harsh and discriminatory immigration laws that were passed in 1996 and 1997 were implemented after the publishing of this book. There are a few other wealthy white men who propagated xenophobia at this time, and I will discuss their contributions in a future blog post. However, I argue that Peter Brimelow was the most influential white nationalist at this time because he found a venue to present his message of hate to a substantial portion of the general population.

Studies have shown that xenophobia and racism increase during hard economic times. More competition for fewer jobs creates an atmosphere where it becomes acceptable to marginalize a larger percentage of the population based on race, sex, class and creed. Being the opportunist that he was, Peter Brimlow exploited the recession that hit in the mid 90's and preached an ideology of white supremacy and nativism to a public plagued by strife and uncertainty-- and thereby susceptible to hate and fear mongering.

Interestingly, Peter Brimelow was an immigrant from England; a white immigrant to be specific. Apparently, he did not object to an influx of white/European immigrants However, he could not abide an onslaught of--what he termed-- "unassimiable" black and brown immigrants into this country. Such an onslaught, he argued will "make America an alien nation... a freak among the world's nations because of the unprecedented demographic mutation it is inflicting on itself." (p. XIX)

He goes onto to relate the following:

"...the American nation has always had a specific ethnic core. And that core has been white. A nation, of course, is an interlacing of ethnicity and culture. Individuals of any ethnicity or race might be able to acculturate to a national community. and the American national community has certainly been unusually assimilitive. But nevertheless, the massive ethnic and racial transformation that public policy is now inflicting on America is totally new--and in terms of how Americans have traditionally viewed themselves, quite revolutionary. Pointing out this reality may be embarrassing to starry-eyed immigration enthusiasts who know no history. but it cannot reasonably be shouted down as "racist" or un-American." pg. 10

Throughout his maligned narrative he claims he is not a racist. However, arguing that America has always been white and making inflammatory statements that imply that diverse, multi-cultural societies have always been violent, unproductive and chaotic can only be classified as racist despite his camouflaging rhetoric. Apparently, Brimelow is considerably ignorant about science. Researchers of biology, genetics and sociology have all come to the same conclusion-- diversity makes living organisms stronger and more able to survive in changing environments.

He goes on to say:

"Race is destiny in American politics. It's importance has only been intensified by the supposedly color-blind civil rights legislation of the 1960's--which paradoxically has turned out to mean elaborate race-conscious affirmative action programs. Any change in the racial balance must obviously be fraught with consequences for the survival and success of the American nation. It is simply common sense that Americans have a legitimate interest in their country's racial balance. It is common sense that they have a right to insist that their government stop shifting it. Indeed, it seems to me that they have a right to insist that it be shifted back." p. 26

One can only reluctantly imagine what he meant by shifting "it"--the white majority--back. No doubt he influenced a whole generation of law makers who have maligned immigrants by incarcerating, abusing , raiding their homes and workplaces, and deporting them by the millions. Just how far white nationalists will go to purge the country of "unassimiable" black and brown immigrants is yet to be known.

Those of us with reasonable and enlightened constitutions must be vigilant in the quest to prevent human rights violations against immigrants, a particularly vulnerable population in contemporary American society. Within this current economic downturn and increasing moral panic against immigration; any imagined atrocity, humiliation or castigation is plausible-- and has happened to some immigrant somewhere in the country.

Memorial #2: Farouk Abdel-Muhti

Farouk Abdel-Muhti in detention

Farouk Abdel-Muhti was a Palestinian immigrant who made Queens, New York his home. He produced radio programs that were critical of American and Israeli foreign policies. He was also out of status.

Upon being arrested at his home in Queens by FBI officials in 2002, Farouk was transferred from various detention centers, jails and prisons across the country. Transferring detainees multiple times is a common procedure for the Department of Homeland Security. The excuse made for this bizarre behavior is the significant overcrowding in detention facilities. The scope of these harsh immigration laws has made existing detention facilities burst at the seems. It is not unusual for detention facilities, designed for 300 individuals, to house 700 or more.

But a more insidious reason may lurk beneath the surface. Moving detainees multiple times makes it harder for family members, friends or even lawyers to keep track of or visit the detainee. Relatives are not notified when their loved ones are moved and even attorneys are not made aware their client is now incarcerated two states over. Without the support of family members, friends and legal counsel it is more likely the detainee will be deported.

The rate of arresting and incarcerating illegal aliens has expanding much faster than the contractors can build new detention facilities. These new non-violent "criminals" are often housed in county jails and federal prisons alongside dangerous and violent felons.

The following quote is taken from the book Targeted:Homeland Security and the Business of Immigration by author Deepa Fernandes:

"During his two-year detention, Farouk spent eight straight months in solitary confinement in a tiny York County jail cell with no light for twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes per day. He was subject to extensive interrogation and was often denied food. He stated publicly that he was repeatedly abused, physically and verbally. On the rare occasions he was allowed to visit a health clinic, Farouk was handcuffed and shackled. After two years and extensive pro-bono support from the Center for Constitutional Rights, a federal judge ordered that Farouk be deported, charged, or released. As with so many other cases, all the government could accuse Farouk of was being out of status--for which he was treated like a criminal of the worst order." (page 89 of Targeted by Fernandes)

Eventually, after significant pressure from supporters and the hard work of his lawyers, Farouk was released in 2004. He became a tireless activist speaking for social justice and human rights across the country.

Unfortunately,this is a memorial in the traditional sense because Farouk actually collapsed and died after giving a speech in Philadelphia about human rights violations in the U.S. and Palestine. Undoubtedly, the stress and abuse suffered within the various prisons and detention facilities he was held in eventually caused the heart attack Farouk suffered from on that fateful day. It is interesting to note that he was not treated for his heart condition the entire time he was in detention.

May we, who strive to follow humbly in his footsteps, never waiver in our determination to fight discrimination and racism wherever it exists. Whether is shows it's distorted face in distant lands or right here within the land of the "free"-- may we always have the courage to speak truth to power.

Disposable bodies

Grace Chang wrote about the plight of undocumented woman immigrants in her book Disposable Domestics: Immigrant Women Workers in the Global Economy. She characterizes these woman as being disposable for several reasons. The most integral reason is that undocumented workers are necessary for the functioning of American society yet they are simultaneously cast aside for cheaper employees and then run out of the country.

Let me repeat that: undocumented workers are necessary for the stability of the American economy...

As a side note here: woman are particularly exploitable because of their subjugated status in society--yes, even our modern society. The fact that thousands of woman are assaulted, raped and killed in America every year attests to the fact that woman are still considered second class citizens. Furthermore, woman are still paid seventy cents to every man's dollar.

Why does the American economy need undocumented workers? America's economic system is capitalistic. Capitalism always needs surplus labor in order to expand. In capitalistic societies, in order for the consumerist machine to keep functioning it needs to keep a large pool of cheap, highly exploitable workers in the wings for future utilization.

Additionally, different segments of the working population are pitted against each other in an endless competition for the few jobs that are available. Sexism, racism and xenophobia are all societal ills that capitalism uses to its advantage.

This is evident with the observable increase of sexism and racism in economic downturns: like the one we are having now. This inherent competition allows capitalists to continually drive wages down for every worker.

Undocumented workers are the most exploitable and vulnerable workers in America. Employers do not have to offer any benefits, pensions, vacations, or health insurance to these particular employees. More importantly, employers of undocumented workers do not have to follow labor laws.

Additionally, undocumented workers do not get any government assistance in the form of social security benefits, welfare, food stamps, etc. The idea that undocumented workers drain funds from national coffers is a myth.

After the last round of so-called "immigration reform" in the mid 1990's all benefits were withdrawn from undocumented workers. Realistically speaking; undocumented workers prop up the American economy--they do not drain it dry.

Within this new super-capitalistic global economy, woman are not the only disposable bodies. Any black, brown or immigrant worker is also rendered disposable.

America needs to acknowledge its own role in the influx of undocumented workers into our borders and our contradictory attitudes toward them . On one hand we encourage the migration of illegal workers into our country simply because we can not afford to hire natives to do certain labor intensive and menial work. On the other hand we are persecuting the same people for residing and working illegally.

In addition, we need to hold ourselves accountable for the influence America holds within international lending institutions like the IMF and The World Bank. The lending policies of these institutions commonly undermine economic sustainability in developing countries. Many writers including Joseph Stiglitz, former head of The World Bank, has documented these abuses.


Consequently, many world citizens find themselves unable to provide the basic necessities for their families. They have no choice but to migrate to the centers of capitalism in order to survive. Many of them come here to America.

In conclusion, no human being is disposable.

A Stinkweed by any other name...

There is a significant amount of information available from newspapers, books, reporters and personal accounts of immigrants to justify characterizing Homeland Security as being a racist institution. Some writers and journalist use felicitous words such as nativism or prefer to defend xenophobic policies by proclaiming them as necessary in order to safeguard American lives, but despite being cloaked in misleading semantics these dubious actions are obviously rooted in centuries of sublimated racism.

To paraphrase a popular cliché: a stinkweed by any other name still smells as sour.

This post was inspired, in part, by a recent New York Times article posted on July 25, 2009 entitled: Racist Web Posts Traced to Homeland Security.

An article appeared in a local newspaper about the DHS raid of a migrant farm in Western New York that elicited a rash of racist commentary, some of which were traced in an investigation to Homeland Security computers.

This is not the first time Homeland Security and their employees have been accused of racism. In 2003, two African American women were terminated from their jobs and replaced by two white men. Subsequently they placed a lawsuit against the agency charging it with discrimination.

Indeed, when reviewing the hiring practices of Homeland Security it becomes clear that Caucasians are preferred over minorities. Over sixty percent of employees are Caucasian*

Creating a workforce comprised of mainly white employees indoctrinated into American exceptionalism, the supremacy of Western civilization, xenophobia-- and who are not familiar with the lifestyles and vulnerabilities of an immigrant population they have jurisdiction over can easily translate into callous and racist acts. When these ideologies are institutionalized it becomes easy to blur the line between safeguarding American interests and crossing over into dangerous territory and engaging in blatant expressions of racism.

One has to wonder how much desensitization must occur in a workplace to render racist actions as commonplace and benign.

One such instance occurred in 2007. A Homeland Security employee wore a blackface/prison costume with long dreadlocks to work for Halloween. He was awarded a prize by Julie Myers, Assistant Secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After a significant amount of criticism surfaced after posting pictures on an internet site , she later apologized to the National Association of African Americans in DHS for the incident, but not before damage was done to the agency’s already tarnished reputation.

It should come as no surprise that Homeland Security participates in racism. The Immigration and Naturalization Service-- once an independent agency (now incorporated into the larger division of Homeland Security)-- has a long history of racist policies and comments made by officials. The following quotes are from a former Western Regional Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the 1980’s:

“Harold Ezell, was infamous for comments made about ‘illegal aliens’—that they should be ‘caught, skinned and fried.’ Senator Dennis DeConcini reportedly complained that Ezell used the term “wets”, apparently a shortened version of the pejorative term ‘wetbacks’, to refer to undocumented immigrants seeking to cross the Rio Grande.”*


There is presupposition towards discrimination and racism in an institution that is designed to function simultaneously as a public service agency that naturalizes the newest influx of mostly black/brown immigrants into American society and a militarized retribution unit that imprisons and deports the same group of immigrants. Militarization and public service do not make compatible bedfellows simply because they operate under different assumptions and aspire to dissimilar goals. One of the two must become dominant-- and it is obvious which one triumphed based on the large number of charges and lawsuits that have been filed against Homeland Security because of their aggressive and racists tactics.

The moral panic that ensued against Muslims after September 11th created ample opportunity to engage in government sanctioned racism. Despite the fact that the perpetrators were Arab Muslims, this racial profiling ensnared all black or brown minorities. This can be witnessed in the numerous workplace raids that target businesses that hire substantial numbers of minority workers. Unfortunately, many U.S. citizens, and green card holders have also been “mistakenly” lassoed in these raids and have been subjected to interrogations, detentions and sometimes even deportations simply based on the color of their skin. This posturing is also observable in the numbers of black and brown people who are detained and interrogated at airports.

Racism is also evident within the many rogue local police offices that enforce immigration law with Homeland Security’s blessings. Without provocation, many immigrants are pulled over in their cars by police officers and asked for documentation that proves they are in the country legally. Their only transgression is looking like an illegal alien: which normally requires being a black or brown minority. If they are unable to provide documentation they are locked up in jail cells. Such aggressive policies sanctioned infamously by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona are currently being investigated by the Department of Justice, but not until numerous abuses of power and rampant racial profiling have destroyed many immigrants lives.

We must stop concealing racist agendas under the pretense of national security. There is no evidence that indicates that immigrants, illegal or otherwise, commit more crimes than citizens. Many studies have showed the opposite to be true. We cannot hold entire groups of black and brown people accountable for the terrorist activities of a few degenerate individuals. Racism lives whether we label it xenophobia, nativism or ethnic cleansing.

To use another cliché in its original form: If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.



· (Source) http://www.citizenorange.com/orange/2008/02/photos-surface-of-ice-employee.html


Other sources:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/07/26/20090726dhs-suit0726.html

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/67442/homeland_security_employee_wore_%22blackface%22_costume_at_work_all_day/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/nyregion/25immig.html?_r=2

http://www.aclu.org/intlhumanrights/racialjustice/40069prs20090630.html

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/aug/18/me-land-law-amendment-targetsvestigesofracism/

A True-Blue American

Khalid and I spent a wonderful Fourth of July at Pierre and Donna's house, eating hot dogs and hamburgers, sipping homemade concord grape wine, socializing with great people and simply relaxing after a stressful week. We met a lovely couple, Lorraine and Lee, and Lorraine gave me advice on how to get my art shown in a gallery. She is a successful local artist and her work is shown in art venues across the state. Her genre is fabric art, and is comprised of a painted canvas background and intricate dimensional embroidery of various flowers. She gave me her business card and on the back of it was a copy of one of her pieces: a beautiful rose-colored hollyhock.

Later on, we drove to the Syracuse Fairgrounds to watch the fireworks. They were supposed to start at dusk but for some unfathomable reason did not commence until 9:50. It was unusually cold for a July evening in Central New York, 40 degrees to be exact-- and while I was sitting in a new-- not particularly comfortable transportable chair I berated myself for failing to grab a sweater or blanket on the way out this morning.

Shivering and rocking back and forth to keep myself warm I had ample time to chide myself for my stupidity. While I was watching the hoards of people barbecuing hot dogs, eating ice cream, waving magical sparklers in the air-- and listening to a mother scolding her child for wandering away,-- and doing all those things that are traditional for a July 4th celebration, I wondered what it takes in contemporary society to be considered a true blue, patriotic American and whether I could fit into that narrow definition.

It's easy to know how to be a true-blue American on the 4th of July. It's all spelled out for us. We BBQ, picnic, eat hot dogs and hamburgers, sip lemonade and basically gorge ourselves until the buttons on our shirts pop off. Then we gather our family and friends together and pile in trucks and drive to the best fireworks display in the area.

But when the smoke has dissipated from the ink hued sky, and the last blaze of fiery, reflected color has faded from the iris of a sleeping child; what does a true-blue American do?

Television does a good job of illustrating what is expected of us as it broadcasts American culture and the iconic American dream 24 hours a day; seven days a week. Commercials and the pandering of politicians tell us our most sacred duty as an American is to shop and keep quiet. Put everything on credit and bolster the sagging economy. Shop until you drop-- but don't ask too many questions and, most definitely, don't be critical of the government. We distract ourselves by buying new cars built with cheap parts, large elaborate homes constructed on sink holes--and buy the latest technological gadget at exorbitant prices. Do all this and more--put yourself into piles of critical debt-- but don't draw attention to corporate corruption and the political system that supports it.

And when everything inevitably goes down in flames and the economy is in shambles-- make sure that blame falls on the victims: the Americans who bought into the American dream that has turned into the American nightmare. Blame the poor people who wanted to provide a safe roof for their children, or the young man who borrowed money to keep his fragile business afloat as larger corporations invaded his territory and lured his customers away with promises of the good life for a cheap price. Blame the old people who have to choose between buying food, heat or costly medicine. By no means should you hold the greedy politicians or corporation's accountable. And even if you do, for Heaven's sake, be polite and obedient and don't talk about it.

Maybe I am a relic of the rebellion and social consciousness of the 1960's--after all--I was born in the late sixties and some of the "hippie" essence must have rubbed off on me. But I can't help but feel there is more to being a patriotic American than ascribing to consumerism, passivity or fervent individualism. Somehow, I feel less patriotic--less true-blue-- by admitting that.

When did greed become a trait to aspire to and how exactly did it become good for our economy? America is still predominately a Christian nation therefore I assume that greed is still considered one of the seven deadly sins. I ask this because I read a comment in a discussion group glorifying the virtue of greed and how it single handedly pushed this nation into greatness. Without greed, the argument went, this nation would never had become the superpower it is today. I disagree, I believe that it was ambition that forged this nation. But ambition, without foresight and restraint, becomes destructive and turns to greed.

Am I true-blue American? If I compare myself to some people's notion of what a true-blue American is, probably not. I have a strong tendency towards social and political criticism and don't mind letting my revolutionary thoughts known when the appropriate occasion arises. However, I also believe in community building, helping your neighbor, working for social justice and treating everyone, regardless of rank, color, or culture with dignity and respect. In my heart--that is being a true-blue, patriotic American.