No One Is More American Than I Am

Predictably, after the Ft. Hood shooting some idiot conservatives are suggesting that we do some sort of loyalty exam for Muslim-Americans before allowing them into the US military. Who is "we"? Who gets to do this exam? What, presumably more American people like whites or Christians?

Why don't Muslim Americans decide which Christians get to enter the US military? Oh, does that sound offensive? Does it sound weird? Why should it sound any different than Christians getting to decide which other Americans they will allow into the US military?

A lot of people are rightfully making the point that you can not generalize about millions of Muslims in this country based on two guys. Just as you cannot generalize about all right-leaning white Christians (let alone all Christians in their entirety) based on what domestic terrorists like Tim McVeigh did, or Terry Nichols, or Eric Rudolph, or Scott Roeder or ...

But there is a more important point here. Muslims Americans don't have to prove a damn thing to you. They are Americans just like anyone else, whether right-wing clowns like it or not. They are not 80% American. They are not 90% as American as you are. You don't get to judge how American they are.

Here is the unalterable fact that the right-wing of this country has to get used to: Muslim-Americans are 100% American. There are no degrees of how American you are. They have the same exact rights, privileges and responsibilities as any other American does. They don't have to answer to you.

I'm agnostic now, but I was born Muslim. My whole family is Muslim. They're all Americans. Not one of them is one percent less of an American than any other race or religion in this country. My family became American by becoming naturalized. If anything, that shows that we are even more loyal to this country. Our citizenship is not an accident of birth, we chose America.

If someone challenges how American I am based on my race, ethnicity or religion (or lack thereof), them's fightin' words. These colors don't run. There is no one in the country more American than I am.

And at least I understand the whole point of the country. We are all created equal. We all have the same rights. We do not judge people based on their race or religion. That is part and parcel of what America is all about. And if you don't understand that, I question how American you are.

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Comments

[back office drone]

The Ft. Hood massacre happened because the dude REALLY didn't want to go to war and he snapped. Everything else is just circumstance.

[fox fur]

Being of Arab or Muslim background does not make anyone less patriotic than anyone else.
Who, after all would say that Massad Ayoob is not a real American? http://www.ayoob.com/AboutMas.html

[BruceHNV]

He must be a real American. He is all ABOUT guns and shooting and use of force. What could possibly be more American than that?

[EducatedObserver]

And who pray tell, is a Muslim American?

Is this as opposed to say, a Christian American?

Mr Uygur, I suggest that one way to be considered more "American" is to first do away with such ridiculous nomenclatures.

[BruceHNV]

That was, after all, his whole point. Sorry you missed it.

[mrogi]

When a Muslim asserts that his allegiance to Allah supersedes his allegiance to the USA; he does not belong in our military.

[MJinCanada]

And any Christian who says duty to God is first?

BTW, Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship the same God.

[BlackJAC]

Fundies whine all the time that they're forced to choose between their faith and their careers; what's your point?

[fox fur]

Let's not let this turn into an Islamophobic or hoplophobic moment. It wasn't Islam or guns that caused this tragedy, it was a human being bent on committing evil.

[BruceHNV]

Did you just say that Christians must put their country ahead of their God? That the loyalty of Jews to America must supersede their loyalty to the Almighty, the Author of the Universe?

Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go. I own my soul to the patriotism store.

[BlackJAC]

My family's been here since the 1720s. I had an ancestor at Lexington Green. A couple of my grade school classmates were direct descendants of John Adams and Ben Franklin. My grandfather helped develop high-performance aviation gasoline for the Army Air Corps during World War Two. I took the Navy officer test, and did some QA work on radar waveguide components for one of Raytheon's parts suppliers. But since I'm from a blue state and have been nearly voting completely Democratic because Bill Clinton just had to go and make me think I had a future, the gops don't think I'm 100% American either. I have long since given up on winning them over, and as far as I'm concerned the door they slammed in my face keeps them out.

[alexa07]

Great job of speaking out courageously, Cenk! The greatness of this American society is its inclusiveness, something to hold up to the rest of the world, even though our political & media leaders have tarnished our great ideals with military adventurism, holding the lives of others cheaply in the conflict regions & justifying these actions by demonizing the Muslim faith.

[dunkel]

Americans should not feel a need to hyphenate their...identities. I would feel silly identifying myself as an Irish-American. Why do we as a society perpetuate this nonsense?

[senoralili]

well written and so true! thank you Cenk.

[Carl Caroli]

The right wing, in there zealous, egotistical way, likes to propagate the myth that somehow they and their supporters are the true heirs to the constitution have the moral authority to dictate it's interpretation and implementation. Sadly, their rhetoric appeals to the many small minded, ignorant people that feel threatened by anything they are unfamiliar with. They pander to these folks for their support in the power struggle to control our government, and unfortunately, it's very effective. Our news and media organizations, now owned by megacorps with their own agendas gladly give them the outlet to spread their pox around the country. The fact they are spreading lies and hate does not seem to bother them. Corporations, as we have seen, have no soul, no social morality and conscience. They do what is in their own best interests and that is all. They will ultimately destroy this country in the name of profits.

[davidallan]

The msm doesn't have time to check the lies they report on and do investigative reporting, they have to get the scoop on Dancing with the Stars and American Idol, far more important than real issues.

[gjdagis]

If it offends some peoples' sensibilities, while at the same time preventing the death of countless innocent people, so be it. One of the few responsibilities of government, constitutionally, is the protection of its citizens. If it can't do that sufficiently, it is worthless. It is not only unconstitutional but also absurd to suggest a "test" or other means to vet Americans of any faith, or persuasion, but it is reasonable that those who have exhibited overt or covert hostility toward other citizens be monitored at the least.

[BruceHNV]

So - if a guy who exhibited hostility to other citizens is an Aquarius, we gotta keep an eye on all those born between Jan 20 and Feb 20 or thereabouts.

The vast majority of mass mur.derers in this country have come from Christian backgrounds. Hence, we need to start bugging the phones, churches and work places of those Jesus freaks.

If a nut.job kil.ler was an admirer of Orwell, then we'd better keep an eye on all those who buy dystopian future fiction.

An architect mur.derer should make us hypersensitive to architects.

By the the time you're done, everyone is going to need heightened scrutiny. Let the universal Big Brother society begin.

[davidallan]

Do any of these right wingers ever read the bibles they tote everywhere. Their behavior is so unchristian it's hard to believe any of them get past the cover. What ever happened to 'love thy neighbor' and help the sick and poor and all the other parts that would make a more civil society.The only parts they follow are the ones they think give an edge to white males over everyone else , i.e women, blacks, gays and the rest of the great unwashed who follow other religions.

[Carl Caroli]

They don't read it or live by it, they just use it to control people.

[Oldchef]

Way to go Cenk. We are all 100% American.

[sugarmoes]

perfect.

thank you.

[cdiasmd]

"...any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready." - Woodrow Wilson

And Nidal Malik Hasan plunged his dagger.

"...But a hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts "native" before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States..." _Teddy Roosevelt

In the oath of enlistment in the US Armed Forces it states "I will defend against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic." It is inherent that the recruit (re-enlistee) see him/herself as just an American. Equal to the person next to them in the foxhole. Americans all and nothing else.

This doesn't mean to eliminate culture or erase individuality. Instead it allows a nation to celebrate our commonalities rather than point to others what is different.

[dunkel]

Thank you.

[MJinCanada]

The question is, did Hasan hyphenate himself, or are you doing it for him?

[BruceHNV]

It would seem Hasan did. Which is the entire point. Americans who are also Muslim, of African descent, German descent, Christian, Buddhist, of Asian descent, don't. So why should the government or right-wing fundamentalists begin to do it for them?

[Gwen R]

Interesting. Catholics used to be treated the same way because it was assumed that Catholics would put their loyalty to the Pope before their loyalty to the US. So, if the Pope was for our enemies in a war, then American Catholics would sabotage that war from within the US. They also believed that the Catholic Church was the Whore of Babylon of Revelations (too many Christian protestants still believe this.) There used to be a lot violence directed against immigrant Catholics, until the immigrants grew so numerous had to give up.

I think it will be difficult for non-Muslims to ever fully trust Islam because of the concept of Jihad. Just as it's difficult for non-Christians to trust Christians because the apocolyptic nature of the New Testatment. We look at them and think "What won't they do for God? They'll kill us all to get into heaven."

What we fail to understand is, that there are Americans who don't need a religous excuse to make a grandiose statement through violence. The Unabomber wasn't motivated by religion. The Columbine shooters weren't motivated by religion. We must accept that this type of violence has become an American problem, not a Muslim problem. And we need to find a way to deal with it.