Thinking and Thinking and Thinking and Thinking About the Vitriol In America Right Now

Before I start thinking, I think it is important that you watch a Tide commercial (yes, Tide commercial --- the American Dream brought to you by a laundry detergent corporation) that featured Lopez Lomong and his role in the 2008 summer Olympics. You can watch the above video, too, but you really should take a few minutes to view the commercial:

Lopez Lomong Story (brought to you by Tide)

When I first returned to Syracuse to earn my doctorate, I attended a fundraiser for Lopez Lomong in Tully, New York, and learned quickly what he represented for refugees who not only relocated in the United States, but who are members of the 60,000,000 displaced individuals residing in refugee camps around the world today.

America is not everywhere else. It never has been, and hopefully it will never be.

In 2008, Lopez Lomong was selected to carry the American Flag to represent the summer Olympians and the United States of America. All one needs to do is read his memoir, Running For My Life, to have perspective on what our nation and democracy means to individuals like him from around the world. For many, the United States means salvation from violence, hatred, and war. Innocent people in other nations are trapped by the vitriol of hateful individuals (note I wrote, "vitriol of hateful individuals).

Lomong carried the American Flag in 2008. He was a refugee. He loves this nation. He represented everything that this country stands for.

I cannot promise anyone that all individuals given asylum in the United States share the love Lomong has for our nation. I do know, however, from my work and my research with immigrant and refugee youth, that the very few (the 1%) that is granted an opportunity to relocate, the United States means hope, promise, and possibility. The recent incident in California is not a norm. I've talked with several of my refugee and immigrant friends (many of them Muslim) about what this means and they, like most of us who are American-born, are disgusted. The vicious act does not represent the beliefs, values, and cultures of the majority. As always, however, a few (this case two) instigated a national panic and a paranoia like I've never seen before. This state of fear (and the hatred spewing from our mouths with anti-immigrant and anti-refugee rhetoric) helps those who HATE America in other nations to win. They do not value democracy, diversity, multiculturalism or rule by the people.

It is not a coincidence that the attack in San Bernardino occurred in a facility that took care of dis/abled people. In many nations of the world, the weak and dis/abled are the first to be attacked and ostracized by governments (even killed) because they represent everything such hateful minds detest. My good friend Charlie once said, "You can tell much about a country by paying attention to how it treats individuals with dis/abilities, both physical and mental." He came to this realization after we hosted a young woman from the Middle East in an exchange program and her father came to visit. We learned that she had a brother with dis/abilities who received no support in their homeland. Rather, their son was detested by the nation state and treated as a monster. The father was in absolute awe of what was in place for such individuals in our country. Hearing him reflect on this was one of the most remarkable things I've ever heard.

This is why I was disgusted the other day when watching Fox News (Yes, I sometimes watch Fox News). In an opening statement by some woman I never care to see again, nothing but complete hatred, venom, ignorance, and alarmist words spewed forth. I felt like I was watching the villain in some superhero film and couldn't believe she had air time. Then, later in the day, I saw people posting her clip on social media and I got sick to my stomach. They were celebrating it.

Really? This is what our country is becoming?

And that is why I revisited Lopez Lomong's story last night and reached out to the young men and women I've worked with over the last decade. I wanted to know what they were thinking about the sudden "turn" away from what our nation was founded upon. As expected, they reported they were sickened by the actions in California, too. They understand America. They appreciate it. They wish they could voice this to American people. They don't like having the suspicious and scornful narrative being written about them.

Everything is political. I get that. I hate politics, and would rather stay independent and wide-eyed. With this noted, however, I found myself saying, "Check the hate."

Check the hate. When I hear individuals on both sides of the political spectrum accusing, exaggerating, over sensationalizing, and spewing irrational and sick hatred, I want to ask, "What is it about your life...about your core...that you hate so much?" If hateful individuals on both sides took the time to unravel their hatred (anti-Muslim, anti-police, anti-immigrant, anti-government, anti-anything), I'm sure they'd get to the true core of their emotions and I bet anything it has to do with the power struggle they have either in their personal or professional life. I've found hatred to always be an indicator of projection.

I know this may seem like an irrational notion for irrational times, but the only answer I've ever found that works: in history, in books, in movies, and in my personal life, is the power of love. Right now in the United States - even during the most loving, lit-up, and celebratory part of the year - love seems to have been put aside.

So, I'm checking my own hate and recommending others do the same. There's no room for both. I will continue to choose love. I love Lopez Lomong's story and I love the American dream. I love my family, my friends, and the wonderful students I've been fortunate to teach, including several who have immigrated and relocated to this nation. And I love the mission statement of this nation: Give me your tired, your poor, and your hungry. 

We are privileged and have responsibilities to those who do not share such luxuries.