The indispensable posters at Free Republic brought to my attention a recent piece in Newsday written by an immigrant from Pakistan. Many of the writer’s points are perfectly valid. To harass, persecute and discriminate against people who have come to contribute to the United States is un-American and inconsistent with the principles of the Declaration of Independence. No innocent person should be singled out for censure or mistreatment due to crimes they did not commit on the basis of national origin.

The writer, one Humera Manzoor, should not have to fear for her children or endure ethnic slurs spray painted on public transportation facilities her tax dollars likely pay for. It is equally likely that many Americans do not fully understand the complexities of Pakistani culture and may accordingly make ignorant statements.

But the piece is not without its problems. Its overall tone suggests that the United States is a hotbed of persecution, not simply a place where you may encounter individuals who are ignorant or mean-spirited. "Our liberty is in jeopardy," she writes. "Our daily lives are under attack. Many people are scared. The men shave their beards and the women hide their hijabs."

This portrayal of America makes it sound like pogroms occur daily and is at variance with anything most Americans would recognize. Many Muslim leaders have said that since September 11 they have seen an outpouring of support from people who wish to show solidarity as Americans. Acts of vandalism against mosques have met with public outcry. President Bush has denounced those who take advantage of terrorism to abuse immigrants and religious or ethnic minorities and has made clear that the war against terrorism is not a war against Islam. Attorney General Ashcroft and many other public figures have declared that persecution of immigrants will not be tolerated. One of the examples the writer mentions involves a room that her friend’s child was allowed to pray in. While I agree that this accommodation should not have been taken away (though we don’t really know all the facts), this is something that some schools would not afford the child of an evangelical Christian.

Indeed, until the United States and its allies ousted the Taliban, Afghanistan was a place where many men were afraid to shave their beards and women were afraid to remove their head coverings. Many feel liberated now that the Taliban is now longer in control of the country imposing its will on the people. It is unfortunate that the writer of this piece feels that in conducting the war on terrorism, the United States is becoming something like the Taliban.

While civil libertarians have criticized the Justice Department for holding a number of non-citizens in custody following September’s attacks, it is hardly the case that immigrants are now subject to arbitrary arrest on a regular basis as the article implies. Reading this article, it makes one wonder why the writer would wish to remain in the United States at all.

Well, it does give one example. On more than one occasion, it is noted that immigrants came to the United States for a "better life." Presumably that means a higher standard of living and greater material conditions, as tend to prevail in a free-market economy. An honest response would also admit that the United States is more tolerant, pluralistic and accepting of minorities (especially people of other faiths) than many immigrants’ nations of origin.

Becoming an American must involve more than simply wishing to enjoy American living standards and prosperity. Being an American involves more than affluence. I by no means wish to imply that a person I do not know is somehow not a good American. But the focus of this article is continually on the needs of the writer’s ethnic group. What about the shared threat of terrorism? Many immigrants from Muslim nations were killed when those planes flew into the World Trade Center. No exception was made for religion when the Pentagon was attacked. Americans, regardless of their kinfolk’s homeland, were under attack. There are many in the world still longing to attack us. There is also much concern for expressed, understandably, for Pakistan. Less understandably, the situation in the writer’s adopted country only merits mention insofar as it concerns the treatment of people like the writer.

Citizenship comes with obligation to your nation. Certainly, Americans have an obligation to respect the rights of others within this nation to live in peace and pursue their families’ interests, provided that they respect the equal rights of others to do so. But people who come here to reap the economic benefits of living in the United States owe some loyalty to the national family they seek to join. In essence, a nation is an extended family and a nation-state is the political expression of that nation.

It is time for Americans, naturalized and native-born alike, to stand united.

Jim Antle

You can e-mail your comments to Jim at Jimantle@aol.com.

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Copyright © 2002 by W. James Antle III.
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