Jimmy Carter has not been one of the most popular US presidents, but he has been a model former president in my opinion. His activities post his presidency won him the Nobel peace prize and the respect of many in the world. Carter is being unfairly attacked for his pioneering ventures to bring peace to the world. However, most pioneers were given such labels by those that can only appreciate the traditional and walk the beaten paths.
For those that criticize Carter for trying to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians, please remember that over 30 years ago when Sadat, the late Egyptian president took his historic trip to Israel to extend his hands with peace, he was shunned by most in the Arabic world. When the signed the peace treaty, that was brokered by President Carter, with the Israeli prime minister, he was labeled a traitor by most in that part of the world. After 30 years of lasting peace between Egypt and Israel, was Sadat a traitor or a patriot? Before you call Carter more names, please remember what Sadat did and how it is perceived today and how it was perceived back then.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Are you color blind? -V.2
Growing up in my original home country, I got used to filling a ‘Religion’ field on almost each form that I had to fill on government forms. 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 Egyptian government. I do not think that I needed a reminder from the government that I am a Muslim and my friend is a Christian. 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 on official forms. The government here asks us to just indicate whether we are Asian American, African American, White, Hispanic White, Non Hispanic White, or Native American, disabled or not, male or female and other terms that keep changing to remain politically correct.
In my first days, the color coding was quite confusing and I always found myself and those receiving the official forms from me hesitant about the boxes I should check. I was born in Egypt, which is part of both Africa and Asia. I have enough pigments in my skin to turn black if left in the sun for enough time, but after living in Seattle for few months I can have a fairly white skin. So, am I African American or Asian American, black or white? A wise man informed me that I am ‘white’ despite all these qualifications listed above because the government says so. I have always found white to be a good color, so I had no problem with that classification. I just have to check that box indicating that I am white and hand the form confidently back to whoever wanted to know my color with a smile and a “Yes I am White”.
This color confusion is reemerging, however, as I have become a US citizen eligible to vote. Listening to the pundits, it seems there is an underlying wisdom in knowing your colors as you enter the voting booth and select who to vote for. I hope I can figure my true color code out before November. I was just happy to be an American and to vote for the best qualified candidate without any color consideration, but we cannot get everything we want in life. Life would have been a lot easier if we were all color blind!
In my first days, the color coding was quite confusing and I always found myself and those receiving the official forms from me hesitant about the boxes I should check. I was born in Egypt, which is part of both Africa and Asia. I have enough pigments in my skin to turn black if left in the sun for enough time, but after living in Seattle for few months I can have a fairly white skin. So, am I African American or Asian American, black or white? A wise man informed me that I am ‘white’ despite all these qualifications listed above because the government says so. I have always found white to be a good color, so I had no problem with that classification. I just have to check that box indicating that I am white and hand the form confidently back to whoever wanted to know my color with a smile and a “Yes I am White”.
This color confusion is reemerging, however, as I have become a US citizen eligible to vote. Listening to the pundits, it seems there is an underlying wisdom in knowing your colors as you enter the voting booth and select who to vote for. I hope I can figure my true color code out before November. I was just happy to be an American and to vote for the best qualified candidate without any color consideration, but we cannot get everything we want in life. Life would have been a lot easier if we were all color blind!
Friday, April 4, 2008
I don't want to go to school
When a song with the name 'I don't want to go to school' makes it to be the most popular song among kids, who is to blame? Is it the kids who made it popular? The parents who paid the money to make it popular? The schools for not being very popular?, or the producers and TV executives that created such a destructive popular message? It is easy to choose the latter, but I blame us, the parents, the most for such a tragedy.
You may think I have lost it for commenting on such a trivial funny song, but this is a continuation of the assault on our education system. Education is a much bigger issue than many of us realize especially at this juncture. The US has been a magnet for talent from all over the world, but this is being challenged by other countries that are starting to attract this talent and by the economies that are booming in many of the countries that were traditional exporters of talent. This means that the US has to rely more on the talent within and plenty there is, except for an attitude that punishes these young kids who are interested in math and science and puts them in a negative spot light. It is those young future scientists not the football and basketball stars that will guarantee the future of this country.
I do not envy those running for the school board elections, for much of the problem is beyond the local boundaries of a county or a state. It is a national problem that cannot be solved without a universal change in our attitude as parents towards our responsibilities to our kids. We are responsible for making them appreciate learning. We are responsible for watching what they watch on TV and for identifying problem shows that are detrimental to student role models. Education starts at home with us, parents, spending our money wisely on our kids. We need to buy her a chemistry kit and buy him a history book instead of the "No more science or history" CD. We need to raise the level of our expectations of our kids to match our hopes for the future of this country.
You may think I have lost it for commenting on such a trivial funny song, but this is a continuation of the assault on our education system. Education is a much bigger issue than many of us realize especially at this juncture. The US has been a magnet for talent from all over the world, but this is being challenged by other countries that are starting to attract this talent and by the economies that are booming in many of the countries that were traditional exporters of talent. This means that the US has to rely more on the talent within and plenty there is, except for an attitude that punishes these young kids who are interested in math and science and puts them in a negative spot light. It is those young future scientists not the football and basketball stars that will guarantee the future of this country.
I do not envy those running for the school board elections, for much of the problem is beyond the local boundaries of a county or a state. It is a national problem that cannot be solved without a universal change in our attitude as parents towards our responsibilities to our kids. We are responsible for making them appreciate learning. We are responsible for watching what they watch on TV and for identifying problem shows that are detrimental to student role models. Education starts at home with us, parents, spending our money wisely on our kids. We need to buy her a chemistry kit and buy him a history book instead of the "No more science or history" CD. We need to raise the level of our expectations of our kids to match our hopes for the future of this country.
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