Yes, I too need to blog about this historic event...GOBAMA! Especially now, since today is 5th November and I just posted an entry about being Bangladeshi versus an American. Let me start off by saying, my earlier blog was in reaction to a conversation I had with a group of Bangladeshi-Americans at the American Club here in Dhaka right after watching Obama's victory speech.
We were all having a friendly argument about how Bangladesh is going down the dumps. Some of us felt that we needed to get away and others felt we needed to stay to bring about changes. Anyway to not completely appear a blind nationalist I should point out that while I fervently defended Bangladesh saying we were still a relatively new nation and that changes would come slowly with time...I went back home and had the same argument with my dad but this time I was the one wanting to get away from here!
Anyway, so here goes to being American. I moved back to Bangladesh this summer in June after almost four years in America and let me tell you, I have not come across one person (neighbors/strangers) since I came back who had not asked me why I decided to come back? Yes, even after all the harassment during immigration, and the Bush blunders and other whatnots a lot of people here still continue to think of the US as the land of dreams.
Nevertheless, along with a more popular opinion at present, America had lost my respect a long time back. How in the world could a country considered the world's greatest democracy, start wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and support the military governments in Pakistan and guess what, even in Bangladesh! (We shall keep out of all the other blunders Bush made and for the moment just stick with America's greatest appeal to the world over...Democracy! the freedom to choose). Yes, I suppose the Afghanis and Iraqis love the fact they are now surrounded by the American army, or that Palestinians love America for supporting the Israeli government who not only keep the Palestinians enclosed on little strips of land but also control the flow of their food and water! Or that Pakistanis are ecstatic about thier very recent ex-Prime Minister Pervez Musharaf who with America's backing, controlled the people of Pakistan on a very tight leash for way to long. Yes, this must be the kind of democracy in America that appealed to the rest of the world.
You can forgive the-Bush-mistake once. But how could it have happened a second time? How in the world did so many Americans support this man a second time? This is the man that made a fool of not only himself but of America to the rest of the world.
To not make this blog too long, I shall end it by saying: No, I never really felt like an American ever before in my life.
How could I? My nationality was questioned both because of my RACE and my RELIGION. Yes, I am Muslim and I love being one but - No, you do not have the right to question me about it. As we all know, Barrack Hussain Obama, the 44th President of the United States had to campaign long and hard to convince Americans that he was a) not Muslim and b) that he was an American, and black ethnically. As a result of this, he did turn many Muslim-American voters off of him but I would just like to say, that I wasn't one of them.
I don't think he would have become the 44th President had he not divorced any relations with Islam completely. But do I think he is the man to restore America's place and respect to the rest of the world? Yes, I do. The fact that so many Americans, after so many years of foolishness has chosen to make Obama the president despite the Hussain in his name, and despite his skin color, my faith in Americans is a little restored. Not everything may work out as promised, and maybe Obama will not be able to bring back America to its position pre-Bush, but, he was able to make Americans take a step towards the right direction and choose Obama to be the President..... despite his ethnicity and despite his so called connections to Islam.
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