A tribute to Rosa Parks

We, the people of the world, and particularly non-white immigrants from around the world salute you to express our deeply felt gratitude for your courage in becoming a catalyst in removal of the evil Apartheid practice from the United States.  Dear Rosa, we thank you from the depth of our hearts.

Today is her anniversary, she passed away 9 years ago today in Detroit, Michigan, leaving a rich legacy of service to humanity.  Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement".  

Had it not been for her defiant civil disobedience by courageously sitting in the bus despite the orders to get up from the seat where only white people can sit, and had it not been for the follow up by MLK, the Civil rights act would not have been a reality, and perhaps none of the non-white immigrants would have made it to the United States. You are one of the reasons I am here today in these United States.

In Dallas, there were no more than 5 Pakistani and 10 Indian families prior to the passage of Civil rights act in 1964, then a wave of immigrants came, knowing that they don’t have to drink the water from a different fountain; don’t have to sit in the back of the bus, or cannot eat in a restaurant and forget all other privileges we enjoy today because of her bold step.

I just Googled “Rosa Parks Mike Ghouse” and to my delight, I found 4,710 entries, and felt good that I have expressed my gratitude adequately.  Thank you Rosa, I would not have come to the United States without the Civil rights act and I will do my share of work in making America a great nation on the earth.

On May 1, 2010, I paid my tribute to Rosa Parks to a group of 8000 people at the Immigration Rally in Down Town Dallas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrjU0KULv-Y

We, at the Foundation for Pluralism paid our tribute to Rosa Parks at the 9^th Annual Thanksgiving Celebrations at Embassy Suites Hotel in Frisco in November 2005; she had passed away on October 24 the same year.  Narration of Thanksgiving was given by Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk, and Tribute to Rosa Parks was read by Cheryl Smith and the tribute to MLK was offered by Anne Marie Weiss and the plaque was presented to Rev. Perry Crenshaw by TV Host Ester Davis. Julie Ann Turner and Najma Ghouse were the other MC’s of the program and I delivered the Key note address “the Community is a bus.” http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/TG2005_REPORT.asp

 

On December 7, 2013, another mention of Rosa Parks in “A Muslim’s Prayer for Nelson Mandela” - http://therecoveringpolitician.com/rp-nation/mike-ghouse-a-muslims-prayer-for-nelson-mandela

 If you are in Dallas, we are holding the 16^th Annual Thanksgiving event on Saturday, November 22, and I am pleased to invite you to join us – details at: www.ThanksgivingCelebrations.org  

The following information is from Wikipedia.

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement".^[1] Her birthday, February 4, and the day she was arrested, December 1, have both become Rosa Parks Day, commemorated in both California and Ohio.

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. Parks was not the first person to resist bus segregation. Others had taken similar steps, including Irene Morgan in 1946, Sarah Louise Keys in 1955, and the members of the Browder v. Gayle lawsuit (Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith) who were arrested in Montgomery months before Parks. NAACP organizers believed that Parks was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after her arrest for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws, although eventually her case became bogged down in the state courts while the Browder v. Gayle case succeeded.



Parks' act of defiance and the Montgomery Bus Boycott became important symbols of the modern Civil Rights Movement. She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, including Edgar Nixon, president of the local chapter of the NAACP; and Martin Luther King, Jr., a new minister in town who gained national prominence in the civil rights movement.
At the time, Parks was secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. She had recently attended the Highlander Folk School, a Tennessee center for training activists for workers' rights and racial equality. She acted as a private citizen "tired of giving in". Although widely honored in later years, she also suffered for her act; she was fired from her job as a seamstress in a local department store.
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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post.  All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Martin Luther King Jr., birthday today

TODAY IS MARTIN LUTHER KING JR'S., BIRTHDAY.

We the naturalized and born Americans are deeply indebted to Martin Luther Kings Jr., for it is his struggle to free Americans from the burden of ill-treatment of fellow man, that brought the civil rights act, which is the driving reason for the immigration of all of us, yes, none of the Indians, Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Africans, Bangladeshis, Arabs, Chinese would have made it, had it not been for the Civil rights act. In behalf of all immigrants, I say, a big thank you to MLK.

Mike Ghouse,
www.MikeGhouse.net

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Newly-Discovered-Audio-Recording-Speech-Park-Sheraton-Hotel-Manhattan-241148351.html

Thanks to JFK, his immortal words will become the crutch to great men and women of our future, a corollary of which will become a standard for them, “I am not the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist or Wicca candidate for president. I am the Democratic or Republican Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to belong to the respective faith. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”
 - Mike Ghouse

TEXAS FAITH: Did JFK have a greater impact on religion than any modern president?

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
4:28 pm on October 15, 2013 | Permalink

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John F. Kennedy speaking as a candidate to Houston ministers in 1960

The nation and certainly the city of Dallas are coming upon the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. There are many parts of his presidency and death that our paper and others are starting to examine, from the legacy of his foreign policy to his imprint on civil rights to his use of television to communicate.

One area that hasn’t gotten much coverage is John F. Kennedy’s impact on religion in America. Often, we read about how Jimmy Carter and then Ronald Reagan awakened evangelicals and changed the face of religion in America, particularly in politics.

But did JFK have a greater effect than perhaps any modern president on religion in America?

Read on for some insightful answers.
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas and speaker on interfaith matters

JFK had the most profound effect on religion in America than any other modern president. Indeed, he led the inclusionary trend in America.

A Catholic could have never dreamt of becoming president of the United States. Yet, there he was, the first one to break loose the unwritten Protestant monopoly on the White House with his sheer personal charisma and ability to communicate the right message. He paved the way for any American who aspired to lead the nation regardless of race or religion.

JFK had to be twice as good to win the hearts of Americans, just as African-Americans and other minorities have to be twice as good to be on par. He precisely communicated his adherence to his faith and the loyalty to the ideals of our Constitution without compromising. Perhaps, for the first time in our history, we became acutely aware of the separation of church and state, and understood what it meant.

On September 12, 1960, JKF delivered this powerful message:

“I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote;” and he continued, “I believe in a president whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation, or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.”

America will continue to grow to reflect our deeply held values that all men are created equal. Thanks to JFK, his immortal words will become the crutch to great men and women of our future, a corollary of which will become a standard for them, “I am not the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist or Wicca candidate for president. I am the Democratic or Republican Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to belong to the respective faith. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”

His impact on the civil rights movement is lasting. On June 11, 1963 Kennedy defined the crisis as a moral one, as well as a constitutional and legal one. He announced that major civil rights legislation would be submitted to the Congress to guarantee equal access to public facilities, to end segregation in education, and to provide federal protection of the right to vote.

Most importantly, in behalf of all immigrants, I want to express my gratitude to JFK and MLK. Thank you, we are here today contributing to the richness of America, because of the Civil Rights Act and you two.

To read the other panelists take, please go to Dallas Morning News at: http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/10/texas-faith-did-jfk-have-a-greater-impact-on-religion-than-any-modern-president.html/#more-30501
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.
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With all that hype after Trayvon Martin about Florida being not a good place for blacks, here is a living proof of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream. We were gathered as the son of a slave (Gow B. Fields), the son of a former slave-owner (George Hatch, the mayor of Mulberry) and me, an immigrant who promotes pluralism. Together, we rededicated our pledge to one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. Mike Ghouse
URL - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/08/texas-faith-is-mlks-dream-for-america.html

TEXAS FAITH: Is MLK’s dream for America achievable?

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
4:01 pm on August 27, 2013 | Permalink

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. January 1964

Is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream for America achievable?

At heart, King was a minister, not a politician. He relied upon the Scriptures to inform his views of equality, along with his own experiences. He studied theologians like Reinhold Niebuhr, as well as philosopher-leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. And he led interfaith groups on marches, not Republicans or Democrats in their caucuses.

In short, he was more prophetic like Amos or Isaiah than political like JFK or LBJ. The prophets of old presented a vision for their people, whether the people liked it or not.

Similarly, King presented a vision, a modern one where he imagined “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

But is that dream realistic? Are we too constrained by our own natures to realize that kind of harmony?

In Time this month, author Jon Meacham hints at this dilemma when he writes:

“The death of Jim Crow is an epic story, but it is no fairy tale, for the half-century since the 1963 March on Washington has surely taught us that while African Americans are largely living happier lives, no one can sensibly say that everyone is living happily ever after. The dream of which King spoke was less a dream to bring about on this side of paradise than a prophetic vision to be approximated, for King’s understanding of equality and brotherhood was much likelier to be realized in the kingdom of God than in any mortal realm.In Washington to demand legislative action, King spoke as a minister of the Lord, invoking the meaning of Sermon on the Mount in a city more often interested in the mechanics of the Senate.”

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, and speaker on interfaith matters, Dallas

Indeed Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream for America is realistic and achievable with this caveat: bigotry will always be a part of every society. Since his famous “I Have a Dream” speech 50 years ago, we have seen significant achievements for which we should be grateful.

Who could have imagined that within 50 years of sharing his dream, the biggest part of his vision would have been actually achieved? Barack Obama, who genealogists say has ties to a slave through his mother’s family, is the most powerful man in a country where blacks and whites once couldn’t drink water from the same water fountain.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an activist more than a philosopher and a religious leader. He understood justice is the bottom line for “natural” societies. All that has evolved in nature or created by the God were programmed to seek a built-in balance to sustain. Balance is the natural status of all creation; life and matter.

To be unjust was to be unnatural, and he said, “injustice to one is injustice to all.” King was committed to restore the dharma: righteousness. To paraphrase Quran, God said, he does not deprive any of his creation with his love and sends an equalizer (peace maker) to to every tribe and a nation to bring about a balance. And Lord Krishna in Bhagvad Gita says, whenever the societies lose that balance, someone from among them will emerge to restore it. Martin Luther King, Jr. was prophetic in that sense. Otherwise, why would any one chose an enterprise that did not benefit him personally like the Prophets?

I’m in Mulberry Florida today to counter Pastor Terry Jones’ burning of 2,998 copies of Quran. I am using a peace model to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill. Just two days ago, I knew no one, and today we have been able to bring together two mayors. We also were in the Mulberry Ledger, Tampa Bay Fox News, and a whole lot of diverse communities to set up our September 11th Unity Day USA event. Humans crave for justness, and its natural for them to gravitate towards it if beckoned.

One of the two mayors I met was Gow B. Fields. He is the mayor of Lakeland and an African-American. It was so good to hear his dream, and we connected instantly. Both of us want to see a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension or fear of a fellow American.

With all that hype after Trayvon Martin about Florida being not a good place for blacks, here is a living proof of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream. We were gathered as the son of a slave (Gow B. Fields), the son of a former slave-owner (George Hatch, the mayor of Mulberry) and me, an immigrant who promotes pluralism. Together, we rededicated our pledge to one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream lives on.

To read all the columns by fellow panelists, please visit Dallas Morning news at: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/texas-faith-is-mlks-dream-for-america-achievable.html/

Mayor George Hatch and Mike Ghouse

Mayor Gow Fields and Mike Ghouse

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Praying for Nelson Mandela; the symbol of freedom

URL - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/06/praying-for-nelson-mandela-symbol-of.html

Sunday, February 11, 1990 was a heavy day for me, I was glued to the TV to watch the historical event happening in my life time; the release of Nelson Mandela from the South African Prison. I choked, and I cried. And again, today is a heavy day for me. I am anxious about his health. He is in his last days of his life, the president of South Africa has given up on Medicine and counting on blessings and prayers from the people around the world. May God keep his wisdom and the flame of freedom alive? 

Praying for him in essence is rekindling the spirit of freedom within us.

Freedom is the most cherished value for me, and to see freedom at last for a man in an apartheid nation was worth crying. A new tone of democracy was going to be set in the world for the first time in the predominantly Black African Nation.

I am also kicking myself – two weeks ago, my friend Sante Chary and I briefly talked about jumping in the plane and go visit Nelson Mandela, we had to go through a lot of rig morale to see him, we dropped the idea. Sante has a distinction among many things – to have an envelope signed by nearly eight US Presidents and several world leaders. He is a go getter and gets things done. Sante is one of the few friends where he and I have nothing to trade, nothing to gain, but just wish and support each other in our endeavors. I like this guy!

Can you imagine the power Mandela held? He shook the empire, they could have easily killed or poisoned him, but they did not have the guts to do that. What made Gandhi, Mandela, and MLK successful?

None of them had anything to gain, all they wanted was justice and harmony in the society, and that was their drive, when you become unselfish, you can do a lot of good to the world.  It begins with learning to respect the otherness of other and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Nelson Mandela is one of my mentors.  Some of the other joy-teary moments that I can recall are - release of Mandela, fall of the Berlin wall, Obama's election night,  Peace treaty between Israeli and Egypt, Peace between Ireland and England, Aung San Su Kyii’s release and Freedom at last for the Egyptian people. 

What made these men and women unique and powerful? They were free from the pettiness and all embracing and affectionate like the spiritual Master of all religions.  Several things were common to them; among them are:

1) No wall between them and another soul
2) No religious and political boundaries for them
3) No preference when it came to serving another human
4) The good they did, benefited larger humanity than self
5)  Justness was a paramount value for them
6) No bone of prejudice in them.
7) Their world is the same size as God's world.  

Here is information about him at Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links. 

My Civil Heroes and President Obama

MY CIVIL HEROES

The following individuals were/are bent on uplifting the human spirit, and gave hope to the world! A world, where justness prevails, and no one has to live in apprehension or fear of the other.

Please note, these are my favorites, you have your own, Ceaser Chavez for example is hero to many, and I admire him, but I did not spend time learning about him. We all have to accept the limitations of our time per day and how much we can learn.  

My list includes; Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Aga Khan, President Carter , President Obama* (a reserved entry), Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Nana Saheb (Maternal Grand father), my father and Mother.

Several things were common to them; among them are:

1) No wall between them and another soul
2) No religious and political boundaries for them
3) No preference when it came to serving another human
4) The good they did, benefited larger humanity than self
5)  Justness was a paramount value for them
6) No bone of prejudice in them.
7) Their world is the same size as God's world.  

As a pluralist, who respects the otherness of others and accepts the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, I have come to like Barack Obama. Ever since I read his speech in 2007 delivered in the Illinois state senate, way before he announced his candidacy,  I have become his fan. That speech was an epitome of pluralism and inclusiveness. The inclusiveness that Jesus and every great spiritual master taught.

If I get a chance, I will put together a few statements by tomorrow, and I feel certain that most of it will be reflected by Obama in his speech on Monday. 


I have written 65 Pieces about him including cheers and Jeers, appreciation and criticism. My reservation has been on two fronts, he blew the opportunity to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and the idiotic drone attacks on innocent civilians, these are his two major flaws that will prevent him from becoming one of the greatest political leaders in human history. I have written a few good pieces on the topics and hope to meet this guy, and I believe I can achieve an understanding between the two peoples in the Middle East and coast them towards acceptance of each other. The Israelis need to have a sense security (explained in detail) and Palestinians need basic justice, both can be achieved, if he musters up the courage to do the right thing, regardless of the attacks from a few.

Obama will go down in the history as one of the greatest presidents, and I believe he will bring fruition to what Carter started. He is indeed a catalyst in bringing America forward to become God’s own country, where the uniqueness of every human is valued. He gives meaning to the idea of a Republic, our Republic where individual rights are valued and not run over by the mobcracy. 

*** I am a Republican, a moderate one like Chris Christie, John Huntsman, Colin Powel, Schwarzenegger and many more. I request my fellow Americans not to judge the GOP by the morons out there representing the party. It is time to speak out, and speak out I will… hopefully by the end of this year. 

The stability of our nation and health of our democracy is dependent on a strong two party system. Most of the evil in the past has occurred when either Republican or Democrats were in all the three branches of Government. Stupid though they are, I like the house in the hands of Republicans, they provide an ugly check, and it ensures that, we the people are not bulldozed. Obama has done a great job in bipartisan support in passing the aid to Sandy, and now on getting both the parties to develop a responsible gun ownership policy. 

Updates at www.TheGhouseDiary.com,
Thanks to Sean Hannity and friends for promoting this Blog.

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