Are you color blind?

So many times you hear the phrase ‘Melting Pot’ as referring to the United States. This is the premise that we have always had in our hearts and minds living through for 15 years in the US. Increasingly however, I do not feel that politicians realize the difference between a melting pot and a mixing pot.

Growing up in my original home country, I got used to filling a ‘Religion’ field on almost each form that I had to fill whether for a job, school, government or private business. I was so used to doing that I did not feel any problem at the time. After coming to the US, I started doubting the wisdom of the government doing that. I do not think that I needed a reminder from the government that I am a Muslim and my friend is a Christian. We knew it in our hearts, but it does not and should not be in that application. If you agree with that logic, you should be proud as an American that our government does not require us to fill out our religious denomination, instead you are asked to just indicate whether you are Asian, African American, White, Hispanic White, Non Hispanic White, or Native American. The list of course includes also whether you are disabled or not, Male or Female and other terms that keep changing to remain politically correct. In my first days, the color coding and racial division between these groups was quite confusing and I always found myself and those receiving the forms from me hesitant about which of these boxes should I check. I was born in Egypt which is part of both Africa and Asia. I have enough pigments in my skin that I can turn really dark if left in the sun for a reasonable amount of time, but after living in Seattle for few years I can really have a fairly fair skin. So, am I African American or Asian American? A wise man, who has gone through a similar state of color confusion, finally informed me that I am ‘white’ despite all these qualifications listed above because the government says so and it is a waste of time to argue with Uncle Sam. I have always found white to be a good color so I had no problem with that classification. All I have to do is just check that box indicating that I am white and hand the form confidently back to whoever wanted to know what color denomination I am with a smile and a “Yes I am White”. This problem was put to rest for several years as I lived in the US. Unfortunately, a similar problem is now reemerging as I have become a US citizen eligible to vote.

With the heated primaries and the political pundits and candidates dividing the country into whites and blacks to Cuban Americans and other Latinos to Mormons, Evangelicals, Jews, Muslims, and atheists to the rich and the working class, young and old, I found myself confused, where do I belong. It does not matter what these candidates are about, I have to be true to my color, gender, religion, economic status and age as I decide who to vote for.

Maybe, I should vote for Hillary. Although, I do not like her “do and say whatever to get to the presidency” attitude. She shares my government designated color group and is thus worthy of my support. A second look reveals a disturbing fact. Hillary Clinton is a woman; I better support someone from my own gender. Obama is a man, he is of my generation. He has good ideas and excites me to think that he can turn the slide of this country around. But he is black and voting for him would be against my government’s color classification. Romney seems like a good choice. He is a white male just like me. He is a businessman who may have good ideas for this faltering economy. However, he is a rich guy and I do not consider myself to fit that classification. I better vote for McCain. He is white, male, and not very rich. He is a hero. However, he is several generations away from my own and supporting him would be wrong. I guess I should just run for president and vote for me. I am sure I fit into my own group perfectly. The other option is to just stay put on election night and watch the pundits declare the winner.

I was happy with just being an American. I was just happy I can vote for another American who happens to present good ideas that I felt were the right ones for the future despite his color, religion, age, origin, etc. I wish if we all become color blind around the US.