Dusty essays and old thoughts

I came across some old essays and articles I wrote; the ones that never got published, or read. So the next few posts (or maybe just this one) will be me re-penning my thoughts on issues that I felt strongly about. And it's really strange; I think I wrote better when I was in high school. :$

20th December, 2003

"America"

I’m waiting at a junction after returning from my extra tuition classes. It’s probably the most unsuitable place, but my mind still wanders, thinking about where I will go for college, now that I’m engaged in my A Levels. The first and obvious choice is America, where education is of a standard that the world conforms to. The obvious is also that I don’t have much of a chance getting there, primarily because of the visa restrictions and complexities. If I were not a Muslim and not a Pakistani, then I would have easily gotten there. Sadly, I realize that America is no more the “Land of Opportunity” & the “Land of The Free” - it is the “Land of Hustlers & Opportunists”.

If I were in America, I would be much worse. Ever day, more and more young Muslim students are harassed and made to feel unwanted.

I flip through the pages of Newsweek and read about “Muslims in America”, stating how happy and comfortable they are. People can be bought, so can advertising agencies. Bush is fighting his war against terror, so where do the millions of innocent Iraqis fit in? It’s quite incredulous to think that these poor souls, who have been surviving the last decade of the 20th century under sanctioned conditions, have funded the extremist movement against America. I don’t believe that it’s the Jews-Against-Muslims war, for Bush isn’t a Jew, neither is the Secretary of Defense.

The word “hustle” means to make energetic and hurried movements to make money or solicit business. America has done the same. It has solicited the business of murder and capturing oil fields and made large amounts of money. And it has certainly made all these moves energetically and hurriedly. We were not on a black list 5 years ago.

The word “opportunist” describes a person who is quick to recognize and use positions or situations which provide a profit and advancement for him. America has certainly seized the opportunity, or oil fields of Afghanistan to be exact, and made advancements.

I know that these thoughts would not be welcomed, and that I would be shunned as an extremist myself, a person who doesn’t have the facts and figures, let alone proof. But at least I can sleep soundly at night, knowing that I have the guts to speak openly about whatever is happening around the world.

Another segment of people would approach me, trying to explain to me that there is no use of speaking my mind about America. “You are not the only one who feels this way” they would say. But is it wrong to feel strongly when you are made to feel useless and unwanted?

We as human beings are very sensitive creatures, yet we can bear and tolerate huge amounts of insults and humiliations. But everything has a limit. You can only tolerate and bear so much. Millions of people across the world lie in fear at night, wondering in which direction America looks.

It’s like having a silent invasion...