Out of Many ... One

E Pluribus Unum 

From grade school and up, we have always been taught that our country, the United States of America, is a diverse country founded on "Freedom of Religion" and "All Men Are Created Equal"; in 1972 an amendment was added calling for "Equal Rights for All" (men and women). And in more recent years, there have been calls and laws for inclusivity: acceptance and tolerance of all genders and personal gender identities, acceptance of ethnicities, and respect for all religious beliefs.

So where have we gone wrong? While racial persecution, religious prejudice, and gender stereotypes have, sadly, existed in our country since its inception, it has become a loud-mouthed blight in more recent years. Instead of the acceptance of our common bonds of being Americans and HUMANS, there has been anger and hatred acted all too often. And in a country invaded and founded by immigrants, too many have forgotten our own past journeys and the ancestors that fought their way to our shores.

In 2022, 245 years after the "Founding Fathers" wrote the United States Declaration of Independence and founded our country, we are still fighting many of the prejudices and injustices that our ancestors fled from. All too often we see reminders that the UNITED States of America is not nearly as "united" as, allegedly, it was intended.

It has been said that those who resent and criticize other religions are insecure in their own. While every faith has zealots that spout hate and evil, those are actually the minority, and often those who have limited knowledge of their teachings. The teachings of almost every deity and higher power espouse love of fellow human beings and kindness to all living beings. Hatred of others does not defend your religious beliefs, more often it ignores those teachings.

In the United States, just in the months between December 2022 and March 2023, just one-third of the year, we (collectively) observe at least 17 religious observances:

Feast of the Immaculate Conception  December 8    Christianity

Bodhi Day/Rohatsu (Japan)       December 8 Buddhism

Our Lady of Guadalupe   December 12           Christianity

Hanukkah     December 19-26*  Judaism

Winter Solstice/Yule   December 21  (northern hemisphere)  Native Americans/Pagan

Christmas     December 25           Christianity

Kwanzaa       December 26–January 1  African American

Feast of the Holy Family December 30           Christianity

****2023

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary January 1     Christianity

Christmas     January 7      Eastern Orthodox Christianity

Lunar New Year     January 22     Confucianism/Taoism/Buddhism

Maha Shivaratri     February 18 Hinduism

Ash Wednesday     February 22 Christianity

Orthodox Great Lent begins       February 27 Eastern Orthodox Christianity

Purim March 7*      Judaism

Holi    March 8        Hinduism

Ramadan begins (30 days) March 23* Islam (dates dependent on the sighting of the new moon crescent)

In America, we have multiple religions and beliefs observed including Agnostic, Atheist, Buddhist, Druid, Hindu, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jewish, Lutheran, Mormon, Muslim, Eastern Orthodox, Latter-Day Saints, Pagan, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Scientology, Sikh, Taoist, Wiccan, and more. 

Frederick Douglass once said, "Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

Others have said it, simply, "Can't we all just get along?"

Wishing you all a happy and healthy Holiday Season (no matter which way you say it), with warmth, friendship, and love by your side. Here's to hoping for a more unified, peaceful, loving, and accepting 2023... and beyond.

The American Predilection to Prejudice ~ #MondayBlogs

I recently watched the movie "Black or White" starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer; it's a movie about a recently widowed white grandfather who is drawn into a custody dispute over his biracial granddaughter who he has raised all of her life. Overall the movie was, in my opinion, terrific. Admittedly the story does include some stereotyping: a wealthy white grandfather with a drinking problem, a crack addicted and absent black father, and a loving black grandmother who lives with her large extended family in an unsavory part of town. Personally I think those stereotypes were used to emphasize that no side is perfect or better than the other

During one of several poignant courtroom scenes where the father's family lawyer Jeremiah (played by Anthony Mackie) tries to make Elliot (played by Costner) out to be a bigot, Elliot makes a very dramatic and thought-provoking argument:

Jeremiah: Do you have a problem with racial prejudice?
Elliot: Is that what you want to make this about, Jeremiah? Really? Well then let's do it them. You've wanted to ever since Rowena first dragged you into this. So yes, we're different, you and I. You want to submit that? Submit it. We have different skin color. Is that the first thing I notice when I see a black man, the color of his skin? Yes. Submit Away. Because I can go ahead and submit that it's the first thing you see when you see a white guy. Now I don't know why that is any more than I know why when I see a good-looking woman, the first thing I notice are her breasts, because I do. But if I move on to my next thought quick enough, I'm not a pervert... I'm not a bad guy. I'm just mildly flawed. It's the same thing with race. It's not my first thought that counts, it's my second, third and fourth thought. And each and every case I'm in it comes down to the same thing, the action and the interaction with the person I'm interacting with. 

Noticing a person's physical description whether they are black or white, male or female, fat or thin, tall or short doesn't make a person a bigot. The meaning of PREJUDICE according to Google is a "preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience". Prejudice is when we allow that first look, that first impression, to make a difference in how we view an individual. We teach our children to notice the things around them, we ask our police officers to note a person's description, we hope drivers are observant about the people and places they pass. If you look with your eyes open you will see differences in our appearances. I am a short olive-toned, plumper than should be female and if you notice any of that you are simply looking AT me... BUT if you allow any of that to think that I am less or more worthy of fair treatment than any one else simply based on my appearance, then that is prejudice.

We are all raised with some preconceived notions... a white picket fence around a suburban house means a happy family... an eccentrically dressed older woman sitting on a park bench is crazy... a well dressed white man driving an expensive car is highly respected... a young black child with a torn and dirty shirt has an irresponsible single mother. We've been exposed to many of these stereotypes in our childhood homes, on TV, through single incidents. As "Elliot" said though, move on to your next thought; think of the possibilities, learn more.

As a society we've become lazy. Too many people don't want to take the time to learn about a person and about their character. Meet me, talk with me; read my resume if I am looking for a job instead of tossing it onto the rejection pile when you see the Spanish surname. Don't assume when you see the Star of David I sometimes wear that I fit every negative ethnic joke you ever heard about Jews. And if you decide I have the qualifications for the job don't pay me less than you would a man working the same position.

Yes, we have differences. Even people of the same ethnic group, gender, age range, religion have differences. And yet we are all alike, we all feel pain and joy, we all enjoy being loved, we all need sustenance, and we all need air to breathe. Even identical twins can have very different personalities, skills and desires. 

Prejudice is stopping at that first look or that first impression. Prejudice is not thinking past stereotypes. Prejudice is allowing bias to dictate how you treat someone simply because you can't or won't take the time to move on to your second, third and fourth thoughts.

Respect people for WHO they are and not for WHAT they appear to be.

Make time to learn their traditions, cultures and language.

Give meaning to the words Brotherhood and Humanity.

The Link Between Hyphema and The Miss America Pageant

There's a lot of noise about Syracuse-born Nina Davuluri winning the Miss America title because of her heritage. It seems that her brown-skin makes her UN-American according to some rather vocal opponents. Davuluri was born to parents who emigrated from southeastern India before her birth.

It shouldn’t matter where Miss Davuluri was born or raised anyway. "I have to rise above (the hate). I always viewed myself as first and foremost American." Those were the words she spoke after vile diatribe hit the online world.

In Hyphema, Sudah Garratti was born in Pakistan (another Asian country). She was making the appropriate moves to earn her American citizenship and to vow her allegiance to everything the U.S.A. stands for. When Matt Garratti moved his family to North Carolina they were met with bigotry and misconceptions. One person compares Sudah to the 19 terrorists of 9/11, she’s called an “A-rab” and she’s looked at with undue suspicion when her own family is put in jeopardy. Her determination to earn her American citizenship, to be a good person and to love her husband and son is mocked simply because of her ethnicity.

I am certainly not attempting to trivialize Nina Davuluri’s situation or the loathsome and hateful statements made against her after being crowned Miss America. She is an American woman who is now in a position to be a role model, an emissary of our land, and an example of our American diversity. Sudah Garratti is a fictional character, but Sudah was the result of the same hatred exhibited in vile tweets and other comments after the pageant.

A few weeks ago I watched John Wayne’s The Searchers and I had to laugh when he “complimented” a tribal chief by saying “You speak good American for an Injun.” Certainly our Native Americans have a different perspective on the term “American through and through”. According to Wikipedia, in 2010 the (Native American) American Indian or Alaska Native population was less than one-percent. In 2007 there were approximately 38-million first-generation LEGAL immigrants. Our country is overwhelmingly inhabited with people and traditions that did not originate on our shores, we’ve blended cultures and families with a diverse and rich mix of heritage.

The pageant was filled with beautiful American women from varied backgrounds and ideologies, women who can be respected and admired for their intelligence, their uniqueness, and their commitment to principles. Each participant seemed worthy of her individual state title, but in the end only one could wear the crown. I applaud Nina Davuluri for being proud and understanding the ethnic roots her parents chose to plant in America and for earning the title of a true American beauty.

(references: A Lot Of People Are Very Upset That An Indian-American WomanWon The Miss America Pageant; Demographics of the United States, Wikipedia)

*In 1983 Vanessa Williams became the first African-American woman to wear the Miss America crown - there was a lot of hate mail and racist comments then too.

Hyphema

a review from Tracy Riva

Stories That Reflect the Real World

*this post was previously published on Chris Redding's blog on Aug. 2, 2011:

(Hyphema is my second EMS based novel)

Chelle Cordero:
Stories That Reflect the Real World

I like to read and write contemporary stories,
stories that reflect the real world around us.
The real world is fraught with plenty of controversial,
sometimes frightening, and sometimes angry
topics. People show they can be ugly sometimes;
others show genuine heroics in the face of
enormous catastrophes  I try not to shy away
from this realism.

Although I am admittedly opinionated
 and passionate-in-my-beliefs, I try
not to infuse my characters with my
attitudes. I want each character I
create to be an individual with their
own views and their own motivations.
Some of the topics I’ve included in
my stories include rape (female AND
male), homosexuality, promiscuity,
politics, prejudice, obsession, greed,
and betrayal.

None of my characters are all good or all bad (even
if a few villains came close) just like in real life where
no one is all one way or the other – somehow even
the most detested still have someone willing to love
them. That’s life.

I’ve heard comments about a few of my stories and
the themes I’ve written about; thankfully I’ve gotten
more kudos than protests.

The most controversial topic I’ve included in my
stories (so far) was in Hyphema. Hyphema features
an interracial and intercultural marriage between a
red-blooded Caucasian American Christian male and
a Pakistani Muslim immigrant – the story takes place
in a post-9/11 world. The cover shows a beautiful
young woman wearing a Berka (scarf and face
covering). I’ve certainly heard strong reactions and
I am sure there are a few who would never read the
book simply because of widespread prejudices and
fears since 2001.

A quote from a review of Hyphema says, “Cordero meets
headlong a number of real problems facing her characters. She doesn't
sugar-coat cultural differences and prejudice…”

Subject matter should matter
and  when it evokes strong
feelings and discussion, I
believe that I have done
my job as a writer. I tackle
contemporary subjects and
real life situations because
I want folks to THINK long
after they put my book down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyphema: Bleeding in the eye caused by trauma.

Matt Garratti, a paramedic from New York, moves his wife and son to
North Carolina to work at his dream job as a flight medic. Pakistani
born Sudah, his wife, receives frosty stares and insensitive
comments from their new neighbors. Before long, Matt wonders if he
is pursuing his dream or bringing his family into a nightmare from
which they may never wake.