Broken (American) Dreams
Reflections on the MN Shooting
Recent current events have been disturbing and have me feeling conflicted. As I attempt to reconcile the sentiments of my past with the issues of today, I would like to express my feelings and memories of going to the United States to become a mechanical engineer specializing in air conditioning. For context, I was raised in the Middle East and therefore have a beautiful affinity for the culture, the people and the food. I observed how family oriented they are and their love for children. That said, in the summer of 1956 I left Beirut, Lebanon on a ship to Italy and from Italy I took a ship called the US Constitution to the United States. I was a young student full of hopes and dreams and the moment I stepped in this new country, I fell in love with the world of possibilities and the kindness and generosity of its people.
Since I had a student visa, it was easy to navigate around the US and I ultimately ended up in Minneapolis after graduating from the South Dakota State University. It was a wonderful decision as Minneapolis was a mid-sized town that was burgeoning with optimism and employment. Everyone was so nice and I spent a whole year working for a small company and I was completely at ease with the friendly people and beautiful surroundings. I met a woman who became like my guardian angel and she introduced me to American culture and democratic values. She fully indoctrinated me with the way of life that America represents which left such a strong impression on me on my attitude and way of thinking towards America. I remember thinking I love America as the spirit was so inspiring and full of optimism.
And so it was with a very heavy heart when I saw the mass shooting in Minneapolis at a Catholic school. It triggered all these beautiful memories I had from my early adventures as a young man discovering Minneapolis. Imagine, America now averages over one mass shooting per day which is an incredible statistic! The beautiful and safe America that I had such wonderful memories of has changed so much into a violent society that I am shocked. But guns are good for business and therefore we have to keep selling guns. The constitution is an amazing document but it needs to be updated. All the shootings were done in America by Americans, including the Oklahoma City bomber and Sandy Hook. What had happened to the beautiful America that I once knew? Minneapolis was the first big city I lived in in America and I had such great and beautiful memories and now I cannot believe such a horrific mass shooting could happen in a house of God, in the church.
The America I see now is fractured. The economy no longer lifts people, it crushes them. Homelessness spreads like a shadow across our cities. I remember San Francisco to be such a beautiful city and now, the last time I went there I was shocked to see homeless people sleeping everywhere in the streets. In the richest country in the world, hundreds of homeless people sleeping on the streets. Meanwhile our healthcare system - the worst among developed nations - buries families in debt or denies them care altogether. And while Americans suffer, Washington burns hundreds of billions on foreign wars and an endless military machine. We project power abroad while neglecting our own. Veterans return home to poverty and trauma, abandoned by the very nation they served. Where is the government, the democracy, the consciousness of the people? The lobbyists and news media are spinning a different story. CNN and Fox News are so far apart that you cannot believe they are covering the same story in the same country. I feel more and more the news media is disconnecting the country in 2 halves, where each half is more important than the country put together. The parties are not more important than the whole country and this is destroying the fabric of the American values. And the news media is pushing this polarization of the people in a destructive manner. I want to make sure that it is very clear that I have never joined any political party anywhere in the world but was always well informed of politics all around the world, especially the Middle East and United States. So my comments here speak from the heart, from a beautiful sentimentality and nostalgia I have for an America that once was.
I am just heartbroken about what's going on in a beautiful country that helped me so much and was such an integral part of my young life. My children still live in the US and support everything possible but it sure is not the America that I knew and loved so dearly. Please wake up America, please go back to your spirit and consciousness and humanity of people. America is great not just because it is rich and powerful, but because of its values and consciousness. Wake up America and stand behind the international courts of justice, support the United Nations and other countries and especially become the leader to protect the environment. The dream is slipping away...but it is not gone. We can still reclaim it, acting with courage and investing massively in healthcare, education, housing, alternative energy sources and dignity. The American dream can be restored, but only if we choose to course correct and fight for it now.
