Uniquely American

What happened at Fort Hood was a great American tragedy but, Major Nidal was not the only culprit, Uncle Sam deserves our collective ire as well. This massacre wasn't the first moment in history when the requirements of assimilation played counterpoint to a healthy sense of cultural identity. For centuries, disenfranchised groups in this country have been forced to pick between the call of ancestor's voices and what is inherently "American". Let me expand...

Muslim Americans are in a precarious situation. America has YET to find empathy for this community when it comes to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Does this group not have a right to feel conflicted? Especially because the ORIGINAL mission in the Middle East has been so bastardized and deformed. Where the hell is Osama Bin Laden? Yikes.

Don't get it twisted America. Insurgents and extremists are not the only ones dying in the Middle East at the hands of our freedom forces. Women, children and other innocents are collateral damage. Sadly, the great American propaganda machine is well oiled and efficient so images of THESE bodies lying roadside are not in circulation. However, the truth of war will not be denied. So the question becomes, "How do sensitive God/Allah fearing souls to deal with these disparities?"

I know my history and if history is a forward indicator, than there is no easy answer to this question. Afro-Americans have been trying to strike this very sensitive balance for centuries. The demands of success in America have been especially hard for brown people because we have been told plainly that the enemy is in our community. House Negro/ Field Negro, Black Cop/ Brothers on the corner, Light Skinned/ Dark Skinned...

How does the black cop feel when he is forced to kill his brother in a drug bust? Participate in racial profiling? Probably much the same way that a Muslim feels when he is forced to murder his Middle Eastern brethren as a member of the American Armed forces. Dilemma.

Now let me make this clear... Major Nidal is indeed a very sick man and deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for the destruction and pain he has caused. But his underlying issue NEEDS to be addressed because he is not singular. For some, the sacrifice to be a "good" American is too great...

As always cover and flank me with your prayers as I am always doing the same for you,

Scooby