Wednesday, February 23, 2011

A Note to the Arab People

As an immigrant to the United States from your part of the world, I am so thrilled that your sacrifices, courage and persistence are bearing fruit.  I am following your efforts and cheering you on every day.  I should also tell you that every American I know is cheering you on. 

We are filled joy and hope for your future, and we are determined to help you and stand with you.  You see our country was born out of a revolution too.  The early Americans fought, organized and struggled against tyranny.  They started with nothing and from nothing.  They, like you, took huge risks and suffered countless casualties to reach that day of unlikely victory.  But, while our independence from Great Britain was a major turning point in our history, it was only the beginning of a lot of work that shaped this country.     

What followed independence was simply awesome!  The land’s best minds came together to create the pillars upon which this great nation stands today.  It was a messy process with a number of false starts and much disagreement and debate, but what resulted has sustained this great country for more than 223 years.  Those pillars didn’t eliminate all injustice and free the enslaved; they didn’t immediately produce peace and prosperity; and they sure didn’t solve every social ill.  But they have guided us toward a more perfect nation with every passing year.  They are solid, strong and unshakable pillars that have withstood a bloody civil war, much strife, economic devastation, and many social and political movements of both the violent and nonviolent kind.

So, as you risk everything and turn your world upside down in the quest for freedom and democracy, I hope you deliberately choose strong foundations that will last for hundreds of years as ours have.  Our founding fathers were far from perfect, but they were intent on creating a country in which its people are its epicenter. I pray that this is only the beginning of your progress and that you, the people, are the epicenter of your new systems of government. 

I heard the criticisms when I went back home some years ago, especially this one:  “The U.S. is only 200+ years old but we have thousands of years of history and culture.  What can you possibly teach us?” I also heard much about U.S. foreign policy not being true to the ideals we hold sacred inside our country and that the U.S. exploits the rest of the world for its own gain. There's more than one kernel of truth in those and many other criticisms, and our nation is not yet perfect.  But our founding fathers were principled and honorable as you are, and the results of their work speak for themselves.  So for the sake of your nations' next 200 years, I hope you take a look at what has worked here, liberally copy from our founding principles and consider embracing any or all of our ideals.  I'm fairly confident today's Americans won't mind one bit.

Lastly, in the coming months and years, please don’t forget that you are our brothers and sisters in struggle—no matter your religion, skin color or political convictions.  We share your hopes and dreams and we stand with you with open hearts and minds.

Godspeed!

A Lebanese-American

p.s.:  The documents outlining the pillars of our great democracy make for inspiring reading material.  The links are below, but I have to warn you that you may very well get emotional reading.  I know I do.  
  1. The Declaration of Independence--The document that started it all.   
  2. The Constitution--Solid but flexible enough to remain at the core of our nation.  
  3. The Bill of Rights--This is central to many of the freedoms we enjoy.  It is truly an amazing document. 
Images of all three original documents are available in case you want a little extra magic and inspiration.