Thursday, September 28, 2017
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Let's make America great again.
Let's make America great again.
The rough looking big guy, with neon sunglasses, looked and a wave of sadness passed through my body as he checked me out from head to toe. Those stares were thrown to embarrass and make me uncomfortable. They were meant to disrespect me.
I was also sad because it wasn't an individual incidence. I was noticing such stares quite often, in recent days. Stares, that ridicule a person's existence. I had plenty of experience with such stares while growing up. Even when I'd be fully covered from head to toe, those filthy stares would make me feel naked, as if tearing my garb by their dirty daggers. These hateful stares are intentional, have no regard for human dignity, space or freedom, and make one shrink within their skins.
I had forgotten about such despising stares and glances, till quite recently. America made me forget them. I had no pre established notion of what to expect when I moved to the country, but was pleasantly surprised to observe that no one interfered in each other's lives. I was never ridiculed, instead appreciated, for wearing clothes that made me stand out. My self conscious at having an accent that boldly announced my immigrant status, was put to rest by the people, whose responses brought in the ease and confidence. I was not ignored, people glanced over but those looks had respect in them. I observed a lot of great human values being practiced here, in America, which were only talked about in other countries.
America was a great country and the world looked up to her. America wasn't great when she had the slavery. She wasn't great because she used the atomic bomb, had NASA, the scientific discoveries, or the upper hand in the world politics. America was great because her people had recognized the human weaknesses, acknowledged her own flaws, had struggled hard to correct, amend, and made selfless sacrifices to ensure individual freedom and rights to all. The proof of which was almost a non existence (or open presence) of ridiculing glances.
Yesterday, when the fella checked me out from head to toe, I felt shivers....of sadness. In that moment, I understood, why there was a talk and need of making America great again.
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