Long Walks On Leafy Streets

11/24/24

Rock Creek, Washington DC, Nov 19, 2024    

An immigrant's love letter to America


On tuesday last week (the 19th) I went to Rock Creek Park after dropping off Prashant, as it is just a mile from his school. I haven't been there since the marathon, taking a break from running until Thanksgiving.

The creek was singing happy songs after the rains of the previous day. There were just a few runners and bikers in the area that is now closed off for car traffic. I walked down to the rocks by the water, wanting to meditate for a few minutes. Instead the mind kept churning out answers to the "Letter Boxed" puzzle of the day from New York Times. I managed to come up with a two word answer.

This is one of the things I have been doing since the election. I start the day with the Wordle puzzle. I also do the Connections puzzle.

I have stopped reading anything related to the news and it is doing wonders to my blood pressure, memory and mental focus. Nevertheless, thoughts and feelings about the election keep coming up.

11-18-24, McMillan Reservoir, Washington, DC    

I tell myself that, in the grand scheme of things, our life and the events in it will be just a blimp in history. I decided a few years ago that the best thing to do is to be a loving, caring person and make as many people happy as possible. It is hard to do because there is a lot of anger and disappointment in me at the moment. I try to send some love and compassion to myself and everyone in the world, wishing everyone happiness and peace, regardless of who they are or what they did. Being with nature, such as with the Canada geese that just arrived (albeit a bit late, as they have been in recent years) helps in getting out of one's little ego and to connect with the force that is beyond our little world of worries. It has been a tremendous exercise in mindfulness, alright.

Perhaps one way I can contribute is to put out an immigrant's perspective on America.
In this post I will elaborate on what I called "the sickness in America" in the previous post. Perhaps I could even be as presumptuous as to suggest a way out. It is hard to write about these things but I hope something good comes out of it.


July 4 2008, Ala Moana, Honolulu, HI    

Americans don’t know how much we appreciate this country. They take it for granted but this country gave us a new life and a new world of opportunities just like it did for generations of immigrants. We bring fresh energy, ideas and talents in a continuous stream. This is part of the blood circulation of this country where someone like me feels fresh possibilities and energy and confidence. It is possible I would have had a comfortable life in India, but the truth is, for whatever reason I came here, I stayed because I love this country and its people. And yes, I know what native Americans and African Americans went through. And yes, I marched against the Iraq war.

In the days after the election, we started worrying about what all this could mean for us, our jobs, our healthcare, even our ability to continue to live in this country. We wondered if it would be better to move out.

For a moment it felt tempting to think of a new life in a place far from all this anger, hatred, and violence. But such thoughts are quickly overcome by our determination to build a better life here for everyone and fight for a more just, peaceful, and prosperous world.
I know there are many of us who feel this way, who want America to fulfil its ideals and potential. We are ready to face whatever comes and fight to protect the poor, the planet and the immigrants, even if it means getting arrested. We came from almost nothing and we are not afraid to lose what we have.

Obama Inauguration 2009, Washington DC    

We don't want America to go through what Russia, India and Hungary have been going through. I have been watching in horror as my beloved India slips further under the grip of of oligarchs and religious power brokers and unscrupulous politicians trying to convert it to a theocracy. The pattern has been clear. A conservative minority takes control of the media and the courts and suppresses the voice of the poor and the left-leaning section of the educated middle class. There is still hope in India especially, that democracy will prevail, but it is not guaranteed.

I understand from my interactions with my Indian brothers where this movement is coming from, and it is very similar to what is happening in America. Society is in transition in many ways. From an industrial economy to an information economy, from a patriarchal, religious society to a more cosmopolitan one, from a society built on community cohesion to one atomized by social media.

This an epoch of transition and it’ll take time for people to get adjusted the world over. While I don't want to judge anyone's motivations, socially conservative leaders (henceforth called the "socks") fear that the world is slipping from their control and are desperate to acquire and hold on to power.
So we saw in this election the socks' media machine spreading misinformation and manipulating the worst instincts of people. It is possible in this country also the socks take control of the information and legal systems.

Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, 2011    

But misinformation doesn’t spread in a vacuum. People believe what they want to believe. Unless we make a conscious effort to seek differing opinions, we are all subject to confirmation bias.

There is a big part of America, not just the socks, who are deeply uncomfortable with the transition. It is easy for the socks to turn the discomfort of this section, whom I shall call "wocks," (worried about their future, wary of people different from them, majority white working class but could be of any race or class) against the "others." This is not the first time either. The backlash against minorities and immigrants has happened time and again, the most prominent examples being the Reconstruction period after Lincoln and the Chinese exclusion act in the late 1800's.

The current period of backlash has its origins in the late sixties after the civil rights legislations of Lyndon Johnson.


Nixon joined the socks to turn people against African Americans and his legacy was continued by the Republican party of Reagan and Bush sr. Clinton's triangulation tactics briefly disoriented this movement but the socks managed to turn his character flaws to their advantage. Although Bush Jr was loved by the socks and wocks, despite his various misadventures he refused to demonise people based on their race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. The brief period of economic prosperity distracted people. While the suburban and urban populations continued to prosper during this period and make the transition, the socks and wocks lay fuming and sulking. The backlash came back strong soon after Obama's election with the battle cry of "Obama must fail." This built up into a forest of dry tinder ready to ignite and all it needed was someone to come out and say "They are rapists and murderers" to provide the spark.
The anger and passion of the socks and wocks was so strong that even a raging pandemic that was mismanaged by the government, killing millions, didn't stop 73 million of them from voting for the same government, nor did the myriad character flaws and criminal activities of the same leadership stop close to 80 million from reelecting them.


July 2010, Natural History Museum, Washington, DC    

This is not to say that the backlash of the socks and wocks explains everything. They say dysfunctional families are unhappy in a thousand ways. So it is difficult to point at any one thing. My aim here is not to debate the election but to try and analyze the root causes for the state we find ourselves in. So what are some other root causes of the dysfunction?
As in life, one's weaknesses can be also found by analyzing one's strength. The elephant's size also makes it hard for it to move quickly. America is a diverse nation of immigrants pulsing with energy and dynamism and a hunger to get more out of life. This also creates friction among communities, excessive consumption, and ambition and a winning is everything attitude driving people to mental and physical exhaustion. All of it explodes in violence when that energy doesn't have a proper outlet. So the energy and passion of people have to be balanced by love and compassion and given proper direction.

Moreover people need to come together and realize they have more in common than not. I am optimistic that these things can happen because that has been the character of America. The only constant is change. I say this despite having seen hate eye to eye, been abused verbally and physically, stopped by police for random reason, had difficulty finding housing or childcare, etc, etc., (And all this in spite of me not being a black man). So how can things change in America? It will take time but here is what I think.

San Francisco, June 2011    

I have been wanting to see "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" for a long time. After the elections it felt like a good way to distract myself. It felt disjointed and even mildly disturbing in the first half but I started enjoying the comedy behind it. In the end, it turned out to be just a romantic comedy, but with some great dialogue, direction, and narrative structure. It also brought forth some of the dysfunction in contemporary America and perhaps in the modern world itself. A lot of people are detached from their roots and thus feel hollow inside. Some hide it behind hyper masculinity, others behind obsession with sports or hobbies yet others with over-achieving or intellectual superiority. True satisfaction comes from loving and serving others and luckily there are enough Americans who do that.
Most countries have established traditions and a national identity forged through centuries of cultural development. But America is a dynamic and relatively young nation built mostly by immigrants. What is its identity?

I would argue that it’s identity is in its work ethic, people fulfilling their own dreams and and people looking out for each other. Kamala and Walz did highlight that and I think they had a message and vision that went beyond the superficial political oratory. Hard work and looking out for neighbor has been a hallmark for American society for a long time. Lately though there are two diverging trends -- many seeking affluence for the sake of it, others looking for something beyond just hard-work and community because they identify it with pursuit of wealth. Those who seek material success while exploiting others need to be resisted.
As for the latter group, this is not unique to America. Every society when it reaches a certain stage of development, starts to turn inward and tries to find meaning beyond material success. And societies that succeeded in finding this meaning often find it in practices that focus the mind and transcend the superficial ego and identify with the higher consciousness or ego or whatever you want to call it. While there are many in America of different traditions who are able to find that meaning and purpose in life, there are also many who are led astray by their leaders. Or rather, the leaders pander to the people and preach a religion that justifies the pursuit of material wealth.


Stupa, KPC Tibetan Buddhist temple Peace Park, Poolesville, MD.    

One could find such religious leaders in many parts of the world. You can go to church or Mosque or Temple as much as you want and practice all the ritual and meditation and prayer and everything but if you don’t have love in your heart and if you haven’t overcome your ego, then it doesn’t matter. That explains why the societies in India and the Middle East are still stuck in the Middle Ages. It is very difficult to build a society purely based on peace and love, and few exist. Whether the religion is Islam or Christianity or Buddhism or some other religion, they are all based on peace and love. But unless the people are able to see God in everyone, there will always be conflict.
So will Americans be able to see past their differences, and see God or at least some common values in each other? I would say that they can, but again it will take time. The current fog of misinformation is too dense and widespread. It has been created mainly by the socks with the collusion of corporate interests to keep people fighting with each other. This is how they keep their power and wealth intact.

Liberals keep falling into the trap of escalating rhetorical wars that only feeds the outrage machine. So we need to get out of the conflict vortex first, by not denigrating anyone. It is possible, as Pete Buttigieg has shown repeatedly, to disagree without being disagreeable. We need to somehow drive home the message that most of the wocks and most of the liberals want the same things.

Sunrise, Rehoboth Beach, DE, July 2023    

It's not just about the economy either, although for many who are struggling that's all that matters now. The best leadership doesn't just promise reward but some higher purpose. You might have heard the story of a janitor at the Florida space center who told JFK that he is not just keeping the place clean but making travel to the moon possible.

We want to make people to feel that they belong, and needed. I feel a particular affinity with blue collar folk because my father is a very blue collar guy. Whatever little analytical ability and curiosity for learning I have, I got from my mother. We need to build on the work Biden has done with the unions, and make people feel they are part of a common endeavor, reaching for something higher. We need their leadership and participation in the fight to save the planet and to provide a prosperous future for all Americans.

Sometimes in a family we have arguments where each side feels the other is wrong. It is best in these situations to take a step back, breathe deeply, and think about what we are going to say without letting our ego or emotions get in the way. Americans, or at least liberals, need to do the same thing now. Realize that the wocks are driving the leadership, not the other way. Denigrating the leadership in an angry way only inflames the wocks, because they identify with their leadership. So we should speak out, resist, take action, all without anger, in the same way we would talk to our brothers and sisters. Love and understanding can also be strong and effective. Like water going through the rocks, it might take time but it is the only way.


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