Second Class Citizenship!
Donald Trump, a Republican Presidential candidate who is a billionaire has been making cheap and stupid speeches lately. He wants all Muslims banned temporally from entering the USA until the ISIS problem is brought under control, whenever that might be! During World War II Japanese Americans were interned in military camps, and it was claimed at the time to be a precaution which however brought endless pain to this hardworking and loyal American community and, no doubt, is a dark chapter in American history. Isn't the history of discrimination in the USA shameful enough? While German Americans and Italian Americans were free, Japanese Americans were treated as cattle, and worse, second class citizens. Discrimination by color, and now discrimination by religion. The Japanese migration to the USA began prior to the middle of the nineteenth century under difficult circumstances. Migration, at the time, was not considered as something worthy of admiration and, during an earlier period, the Japanese were not even allowed to go abroad as was the case of citizens of some other countries. A few brave souls rebelled against the values of the era as they wanted to see another part of the world the way human beings today want to travel to other planets. The first generation of Japanese immigrants worked hard at all types of jobs in spite of not knowing English at all, to contribute to the infrastructure, development, and culture of the USA. Subsequent generations inherited this work ethic. A hundred years later, grandparents and grandchildren were looked at suspiciously and interned in military camps during World War II. Donald Trump needs to look not outward but inward. No, I'm not talking about meditation techniques. 9/11 has taught US citizens, apparently with the exception of Donald Trump, a simple lesson: an attack on the country does not necessarily have to come from outside the country. People of various communities within the country who have experienced second class citizenship at one time or the other through no fault of their own are a much bigger danger to American society than a possible attack from outside the country. A good 'foreign policy' in future might be to show a lot of respect to the various minority communities who have been discriminated against in the USA. Terrorism is now a global problem for governments around the world as it has taken on several shapes and masks. However, it involves disrespect for human rights and sanctity of the law often accompanied by violence. While political terrorism is big news as it is always accompanied by violence and makes headlines there is also a growing danger of environmental and ecological terrorism as well as economic terrorism when violence is covert through political control of police and the judiciary, especially at the low and middle levels when democratic rights and legal procedures are dumped into the sewer. The people, the majority, have few rights while governments do what they whim and fancy. Some non-democratic countries such as the Chinese government is one good example which is creating environmental havoc on their people while delegating natural resources to their well connected friends and sycophants. China sports a communist-capitalist ideology where human rights are a separate issue. Friends and party members come first, the Chinese people last! I don't think even Karl Marx could have imagined this kind of a model and scenario, communist party and capitalism as good bedfellows. As they say, fact is stranger than fiction. Building bombs, and bigger bombs and super bombs and nuclear weapons is not a good way to fight terrorism or ISIS at home, wherever home might be. Making everyone a first class citizen is the way to go! The USA, the world's strongest power was brought to its knees on 9/11. People all over the world including Americans were a witness to it through the media and so it is not something the USA government can easily sweep under the carpet, however expensive. Here is a lesson for other countries including our own to learn for free if we have the intelligence before it is too late. All Indians need to unite to make sure our democratic rights are preserved and all Indians need to unite to make sure no Indian is a second class citizen.
