Shame on Manuel
My step son-in-law had his first encounter with America at our worse. Eyad is an American citizen from Jordan. He is a loving father and husband. He's Catholic. He owns an auto lube-'n-repair shop. A customer who was unhappy with some of the work, told Eyad that it was his people who were responsible for the disaster that befell us. Eyad, who is patriotic because he knows what he loves about his and our country, was very upset at the incident.
The police were called, but they decided that the man was just upset about the work on his car. Now at first blush you might wonder if the cops simply didn't wanna get involved, except that one of them told Eyad to call 911 if the man ever returned. I thought they might at least have slapped the man around a little while they instructed him on the need to watch his stupid mouth.
I mean, isn't that what being American is all about. Diversity, openness, and trust. Well, it was. Now many people have forgotten the substance of our founding principles, settling instead for mindless catch phrases and angry glares. Indeed, the ignorance of the man is all too representative of American thinking today. We are a nation awash in pseudo-blissful ignorance. We seem almost proud of our catastrophic oblivion. The vast majority of Americans knows nothing about foreign policy, let alone the crimes our government commits overseas in our name.
Linda tried to buck up Eyad's spirits. She suggested early after the attack on that he change his name and lose his accent. I understand her viewpoint, and if he wore a beard and turban, I think conformity might be the better part of discretion. But I happen to like his accent, and think losing it would be a bridge too far in the wrong direction. Most native born 'Mericans don't speak as goodly as Eyad.
It should be noted that Eyad's line of work he is in — despite his personally having an excellent reputation — has an image of dishonesty that breeds mistrustful and uninformed customers. Not a good combination. Worse, these ill-educated types tend to respond viscerally, and from a script they picked up from talk-radio or in a bar. They are not interested in facts. They shun reason. And they shut down. Not a good combination, either. By the way, after the incident, Eyad later recalled that the customer — Manuel by name — had tried to scam him several years earlier.
I suggested to Eyad that the next time he encountered such intellectual depravity that he draw himself up and recite the Preamble to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, his citizenship oath, or the Gettysburg Address. Some piece of American political literature that moved him personally. And then blow the guy's flippin' head off; it wasn't being used anyway.
I read the Gettysburg Address aloud on Lincoln's birthday and the Declaration of Independence — absent the list of grievances — on the Fourth of July. These are spectacular writings, both the words and the ideas. They represent the very core of our national soul. It would probably be a good idea if everyone took a look at these documents, now and then. For whether they listen to Limbaugh or Lehrer, by reading the magnificent words that bespeak the true political nature of our country, they know deep down inside that the responsibility for maintaining our greatness lies in the hearts and minds of every citizen. Eyad already knows that.
And that's SetonnoteS...I'm Tony Seton.