The US, like most places, has its ups and downs.
Overall though, I
completely disagree with the approach of vilifying the US.
I honestly think that
if you
feel Islam obliges you to hate the US, then you should not be living
here if you
have any respect for yourself. Far from it that Islam imply hatred of
any
nation. Any country is neutral by nature, whether it becomes good or
bad is
solely a reflection of its people. So if something is evil about the
US, if
anything, we are to blame for not taking the initiative to rectify what
is
wrong. I think the solution is to work hard as good people to take over
from the
bad, as opposed to sitting on the sidelines and complaining at their
abuse of
power. Besides, as Muslims who have made a pact and accepted the US
citizenship,
we are obliged to devote ourselves to its well being. This is in
accordance with
Islam's teachings of patience, compassion, and love for all people. I
have
chosen the US as a home, and so as a Muslim, I feel I owe it to the
land and its
people to contribute positively towards their well being.
On a different note, my personal take on the US, and that is solely a
matter of
taste, is that we have a rather bland culture here; way too
materialistic, and
really lacking in taste and substance. I feel most people are shallow,
self-centered, and very nonintellectual. They tend to be experts at
their jobs,
and clueless otherwise. On the positive side, Americans have an amazing
affinity
for hard work, dedication, and a desire to always be best. For the most
part,
Americans are earnest, good people, who wish no one harm. I think this
country
is in need of Islam to make up for its shortcomings. It would only then
really
rise to the level of "civilization" and not just a great economy. I
also think
it can learn a thing or two from Europe as far as culture goes, and the
concept
of "joie de vivre" (joy of living).
England, My childhood:
My experience in Manchester, England will forever be deeply engraved in
my
heart. It was at a very impressionable age, I was 6.5 years old when we
moved to
England, and we stayed for 5 years. I miss my old Catholic school in
our small
town of Salford. St. James's was an old fashioned place in a quiet area
of this
typical English, workers' town.
Boys had to wear shorts even in the
midst of
winter, you had to answer "yes sir" to the headmaster, and sister
Carmen used
the library as an occasional caning room. My main experience with the
small
sunny library; however, was as a meeting place, during recess, for my
secret
Dinosaur society. It started out with just Mark O'Keefe and I, though
soon
thereafter I excommunicated Mark after he broke his allegiance to me,
by telling
David Thomas about our secret which he swore over his Guinea pig's life
never to
share. Ironically, I invited David to replace him, and we have remained
good
friends ever since.
There were many pubs around the school, a green hill we used to love
rolling
down on after school, a wheat field that doubled as our battlefield
with the
kids from the Protestant school down the street, and a marketplace,
complete
with sweet shops. Of course there was the church too, also called St.
James, to
which we used to make weekly field trips. I hated going because I was
afraid of
this huge golden statue of a dismal Jesus on a cross that hung above
the alter,
it would haunt me at night. I used to refuse kneeling when everyone
else did,
and the teachers would chastise me for it. My mom told me to just say
my own
prayers when they were saying theirs.
Generally we had a great time in England, it was a wonderful time
during which I
developed a passion for reading and travel, thanks primarily to my
parents and
teachers.
During my European tour of Spring 2000, I had the opportunity to go
back to
Manchester and revisit my old childhood memories. It felt weird, in a
good way.