As we reflect on the mid-term, there are certainly hopeful signs that our country will steer a better course than the past two years. No more wars of choice and aggression, no more supporting genocide, no more flaunting of internation laws, no more violation of our constitutional rights here at home, no more corruptions and free reign by the powerful and the wealthy, no more denial of healthcare, living wages and free expression of our rights as citizens and residents… the list is too long to capture in a sentence.
On the other hand, it is still a land of immigrants from all over the world, it aspires to the ideals of free speech and democracy, it has a citizenry imbued with common decency, a strong faith traditions among diverse religions, and a willingness to reassert time and again the ideal of a republic where common citizens are the real sovereign and elected representatives are here to serve, empower the poor and restrain the wealthy and powerful.
The tyranny of the last two years has been unbearable to say the least and forced us to witness a genocide in our lifetime that should have never happened. In this juncture of history and history making by this mid-term, and given the Abrahamic faith traditions of our country, I am reminded of our shared legacy of Prophet Moses whose life and guidance can shed some lights on the directions we need to steer ourselves. Born as an Israelite, a community enslaved by the Pharoah, he was raised by the wife of Pharaoh as a member of the household. He had to run away at the prime of his life, because even proximity to Pharaoh could not overcome the lack of security for enslaved people.
To compare his situation with that of our country today where the citizens just asserted their right to be free of tyranny and despair, I can recall three events from his life that is worth reflecting on, as related in the Qur’an (with ample background and context from the Old Testament/Bible for our Jewish and Christian neighbors):
- First, in his moment of utter desolation, exhaustion and despair, as he sat by a well in a foreign land, after running away from Egypt, he noticed male shepherds lining up to get water for their sheep while two women were waiting on the side, until all men took their turns to water. His immediate thought was not to ask for help from the privileged male shepherd for himself but to aid the two women, the vulnerable, by offering to fetch water for their sheep. After all had left and he was alone, his heart ranching plea to the Providence: My Sustainer God, I am truly in need of any good that you can descend on me! (28:24)
- When he was given the mission of prophethood to free the Israelites, he did ask for an army or special aid but to look inward to seek moral clarity, to increase personal capacity to face the awesome task, to be aware of his own shortcomings, and to aspire for capabilities to be heard and understood by those who he was about to face – the powerful and the destitute. This was his prayer to the Divine Will – May You broaden my perspectives, enable me to face the tasks at hand, remove the defects in my speech, and let my communication be good enough to be understood… (20:25-29)
- Even during his presence with the Israelites, the persecution continued and people expressed frustration and despair, but his stance was of optimism but with a caution. As the Qur’an relates – (Moses told his community) Perhaps God will grant you power over those who tyrannize you today; but then God will see how you behave! (7:129)
With this historic breakthrough in our country, and we have plenty of examples where we did not achieve the full impact of such breakthrough (e.g., Civil Rights Movement), perhaps this time we will need take a more deliberative approach, taking some lessons from the life of Prophet Moses:
- Start with addressing the needs of the 60% of our citizens who struggle daily with grocery bills, filling their gas tanks, affordable housing and access to healthcare and quality education. We need to come up with workable and legally enforceable ways to ensure living wages, free market and competitive pricing (for essential goods), a healthcare coverage that leaves no one behind, a national priority for affordable home ownership, and access to free and quality education through college
- Second, a national reckoning of a grand scale for citizens as well as for leaders (elected, business, non-profit and faith) to articulate our commitment to uphold our shared faith in God/Human Goodness, to advance Truth, to reject Lies, and ensure Justice for each and every citizens!
- In our zeal for the above, let us be balanced, pragmatic, generous, empathetic and descent while staying clear of any explicit or implicit compromise of legal, moral and ethical boundaries from our constitution, collective divine guidance, and shared human understanding and wisdom from past generations. Let’s not through internal discord, party politics, and narrow self-interest we descend into the same malaise that we just repudiated.
This will not be easy but must be addressed if we do not want to repeat the failures of the past. We are not perfect human beings and ours is not a perfect union as a nation, but we can and must strive to be and to do better!
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