Memorial Day Memory--What We Forgot This Year

It is Memorial Day in America. Millions relax in the summer sun as smoke rises from the barbeque. However, as you devour the delicious meals you might perceive a little smoky seasoning of guilt. This is because in theory, Americans take the day off to remember those who have served and sacrificed in war, our friends and neighbors who have survived bombs, as well as dropped them.

Surely soldiers deserve this basic respect; and yet, according to Congressional testimony last week, a Veteran Affairs Department employee has been taking sensitive data home for three years and a recent theft of his home resulted in compromising the privacy of 26.5 million military veterans. After learning about this very serious threat to security, the agency did not alert law enforcement for weeks. Anyway, so what-- what’s 26 million soldiers and their families to a National Security State?

It is Memorial Day in America. Forget the bureaucracy, the machinery of death. Time to visit the graves. A Pentagon official has said that investigators believe Marines committed unprovoked murder in the deaths of two dozen people at Haditha last November. That’s not just war; it’s murder. It is Memorial Day; but where have all the flowers gone? Gone to Iraqi graveyards, every one.

And yet-- let us not forget there are some positive and human moments among the high crimes and misdemeanors. Last week, Staff Sgt. Phillip Trackey gave his Purple Heart medal to a 13-year-old Muslim student Fatima Faisal who won a contest for writing letters to American troops. "It's important what these children do for us in sending these letters," said the soldier, after giving away the medal he received in Iraq for bomb injuries to the shoulder and head.

I think about the importance of these small human decencies at the grassroots level, and wonder if these seeds of peace will grow. Perhaps more of us need to write those letters.

Yet, inside the beltway, President Bush has promoted democracy as 100 percent American Brand justification of the “War on Terror.” However, since President Bush came to office, the precious checks and balances of democratic government are being challenged in a hundred ways. Here at home, the Republican leadership has allowed much congressional authority to be ignored. It was only the recent FBI raid on Congress that was simply too close to home for our esteemed representatives; they had a bipartisan fit.

Bizarrely, the next day the Capitol was also shut down when a Republican from New Jersey thought he heard gunshots. It was only some construction workers, but machinegun-carrying guards marched many staff out with their hands behind their heads! Despite all this, dysfunctional Congressional leaders continue to make their little deals. For example, last Tuesday the House voted to further choke off the flow of U.S. aid to Palestinian Authority, and to prohibit all discussion with them.

Hard to believe, but at the state and federal level, Republican leadership is in many ways more reactionary than the President. For example, State legislatures have proposed hundreds of measures on immigration in this year alone, most aimed at restricting illegal immigrants access to public benefits and drivers’ licenses.

Yet Muslims are also not always clear about how to organize a democratic and pluralistic society. Some of us can be very reactionary and rigid. Last week, in Malaysia, a nation with a 60 percent Muslim population, demonstrators chanting “God’s Law overrides human rights”, disrupted a forum on protecting Malaysia’s Constitution. Protesters feared the creation of an Interfaith Commission to study how the legal system protects non-Muslims. Intimidated authorities then shut down the event, which had nothing to do with the Interfaith Commission in any case.

In Egypt, the government continues to oppress any dissent. And in Nigeria, the legislature has quadrupled its salaries; lawmakers make $160,000 per year while the average yearly wage is scarcely 600 dollars. Yet other people simply hope to have a government. Last week, hundreds of Somalis marched through Mogadishu calling for the end of war. The country has long been divided into warring clans. No wonder we have immigration! God help us all!

And now the night is quiet; in the distance, few far sounds of traffic. No music or talk from other apartments. People who have somewhere else to go have gone away for the holiday. Downstairs in their front garden, our Greek neighbors are chatting quietly among the roses in the moonlight. We are all neighbors; at this moment, beauty fills us, and suffering is forgotten. With such moments of beauty we may put thoughts and opinions aside and just smell the rose of existence, and be grateful for the sweetness.

The Muslim: Responsible Citizen; Consumer of The Real

Americans used to be obsessed by UFOs—Unidentified Flying Objects. While around the world much of humanity lived in fear that their neighbor might turn them in to the secret police, Americans feared Aliens sneaking in from Outer Space, their flying saucers using all the gas and electricity and generally driving up the cost of business as usual.

No doubt this belief persists; but more and more, Muslims and immigrants and other “aliens” have taken their place as perceived threat to the Americans heartland. Where are these aliens? Well, they are everywhere—you just have to look with the eyes of fear! You can see the signs.

But when I look, I see other monsters. When I buy my groceries, what is that in the corner of my eye? The dark shadow of the Iraq war; and I realize that the money in my hand will go into taxes that pay the billions supporting this aggressive war. The military industrial complex is huge—and with all its airplanes, more of a threat than the UFOS can ever be.

Anyway, I buy my groceries; let the money go; and see another monster in the corner of my other eye. What was that? It is the system of globalism and exploitation. Who picked the fruit I eat? Who made the toy we buy the child? Was it produced by slave labor in some Chinese prison? Was that why the price was so agreeable that we bought two?

The monsters of materialism are not hiding under your bed. They are in your television; your magazines; anywhere that advertising may reach. They are taking up permanent residence in your heart. You don’t remember giving them a green card? You don’t recall given them the green light to take over brain and heart? And at what point did you agree to sell your children to the monster?

Perhaps you don’t remember. Perhaps you did not mean to agree; it just happened when you weren’t paying attention. Fine! Pay attention. Some people are trying to find some alternatives. Fair Trade Coffee is only one of many examples of attempts to add morality to capitalism. So while you may dream of a system wide change, there are meanwhile smaller changes you may make in your buying habits that will result in less suffering. Be a responsible consumer. For a Muslim, consuming someone else’s labor should be in proportion as in a balanced relationship. And be a responsible citizen; be informed about a range of social justice issues and interact locally with leaders and representatives.

There are some Muslims who are responsible. For example; yesterday I attended an excellent event organized by the Independent Viewpoints, a capable young organization committed to “creating a public space that fosters political awareness by providing a platform for alternative viewpoints, both within the American Muslim community and between Muslims and other concerned citizens.” (http://www.independentviewpoints.org/)

The organization I chair (Muslim Consultative Network) was one of the co-sponsors of the day-long event, “A Dialogue on Shias, Sunnis, and Politics in Iraq.” The initial panel discussion among diverse Muslims was moderated by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now; and the afternoon session featured Noam Chomsky! In addition, the interaction included extensive questions and answers and break-out groups discussion to encourage active participation.

While the existing national groups such as CAIR, ISNA, MAS, ICNA, MPAC and others often seek to encourage civic participation, both individually and collectively as part of AMT, the long established old boys network of Muslim leadership seems to move slowly, too slowly for many of us. There is a lot of political and cultural baggage. Younger people often have better preparation for working pragmatically with diverse partners. In some cases, this means compartmentalizing-- separating religious and other community projects.

Many of the younger people attending the event were concerned about the lack of tolerance in the MSAs, especially towards Shia Muslims. Some of them had horror stories to tell. It is so important that Muslims do not demonize each other. Muslims! Shia and Sunni are not monsters; are not kaffir; and among us, only a small minority behaves monstrously; the media makes use of this to sell and only sometimes question the status quo of exploitation, domination, distraction, and entertainment in the name of freedom.

However, among alternative sources of information, Amy Goodman and Noam Chomsky are better teachers of freedom. While they are unafraid to have points of view that clash with mainstream prejudice, they are interested in the gray areas and detail of morality, in ongoing discussion, in actual truth and not some ideal of Received Wisdom. Good teachers should embody honest inquiry. Throughout history, Muslims have always respected the free pursuit of knowledge and self-critical analysis. It is only ideologues that prefer propaganda, to buy and sell information in the game of power.

Insha’Allah let us be among those who think and listen; and not among those who shout. Muslims can be responsible consumers of practical ideas; and producers of honest work in praise of Allah, the Lord of All the Worlds.