Harassment of Sikhs in New York and Mississipi

HARASSMENT OF SIKHS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE
Dr. Prabhojot Singh and Jageet Singh harassed in New York and Mississippi

URL -  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/harassment-of-sikhs-in-ne_b_3997899.html

We have ways to go to fully realize the value of our constitution, it is violated every day. We take the pledge that we are one nation under God with liberty and Justice for all, and yet we go out and tear the nation apart on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation, and take away the liberty and justice of others.  It is not acceptable, particularly if the violations come from the law enforcement officials. We have to fix this and we need all Americans to take a stand.

How many of us value our pledge, the pledge of allegiance?

Of course, the majority values it, but the tiny minority of about 1/10th of 1% of the people does not value any laws. That is the case in every aspect of life. It is that tiny group of individuals who violate the laws of the land or guidance of the religions as they did in Kenyan Shooting and bombing the Church in Pakistan.

Unity Day USA - September 11, 2012

Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a Professor at Columbia University lives in one of the most urban of cities of America, New York. Last week he faced utter humiliation. Police said one of the men pulled Prabhjot Singh's beard while the teenagers yelled "get Osama" and "terrorist." Singh, who wears a turban per his Sikh religious tradition, and is a public advocate for interfaith dialogue, was kicked several times to the body and face.

Jageet Singh, a truck driver was pulled over by the Police in Mississippi, and the officers demanded that "Mr. Singh remove the Kirpan. When Mr. Singh explained that he was a Sikh and that the Kirpan was a sacred religious article, the officers laughed at him and mocked his religious beliefs. One officer declared that all Sikhs are "depraved" and "terrorists." They continued to taunt him, and forced Mr. Singh to circle his truck with his hands on his turban while they searched the vehicle. Finally, not content with this humiliation, they arrested him, claiming that Mr. Singh had refused to obey an officer's lawful command." On the top of that, Judge Rimes, ordered that Mr. Singh would not be allowed to re-enter the courtroom unless he removed "that rag" from his head and threatened to call Mr. Singh last on the docket if he continued to wear the religious headdress.  

First of all, as Americans we condemn the behavior of the teens, police officers and the judge, this is not acceptable in our country, and secondly, we need to penalize the involved and have them pay for it to set a precedent that this behavior is not acceptable.

What do we need to do in the long run? 

We need to learn about each other, not because it is a noble thing, but because we all have to live together with least tensions.

Our Founding Fathers laid the ground work for such a society, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

 

Martin Luther King Jr. said that we should be judged by what we can deliver, rather than our race, religion or ethnicity.

Chief Seattle, a Native American said this perfectly, "All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does it to himself."

How are we going to preserve that delicate web? What issues divide us and how do we cope with them?  How do we allay the prevalent phobias? How do we focus on our vision for a prosperous America?

John F Kennedy was blunt, "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."  We need to channel that energy and passion in building a cohesive America.  

Every American must feel a sense of security, safety and freedom. If we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Last year on September 11, we held Unity Day USA, an inclusive event that brings Americans of different faiths, or no faith and races together. In its 9^th years, the Sikh community was highlighted for the outstanding Model behavior they created in response to the Wisconsin shooting; we also focused on the 1984 Sikh Genocide of New Delhi in our 6^th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event. It was good for the fellow Americans to learn and know about them, and we hope to continue to do programs to bring people together, so we can learn about each other.

If we can learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of the 318 Million Americans, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day - More about Mike at www.MikeGhouse.net 

Two Referenced articles are embedded at:  
 http://pluralismcenter.blogspot.com/2013/09/dr-prabhojot-singh-and-jageet-singh.html

Texas Faith: Can baseball bring you closer to God?

CAN BASEBALL BRING YOU CLOSER TO GOD?

The analogy of waiting for the season to start with great fervor and starting all over again with a clean slate parallels the wait for Christmas, Easter, Passover, Ramadan, Navaratri, Paryushan and other festivities. It is an opening everyone looks forward to after an exhaustive completion of another year. Indeed, Sexton puts it aptly, “Opening day encourages us every year to seek a path to serenity and transcendence.” - Mike Ghouse
url - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/04/texas-faith-can-baseball-bring-you.html
   
Texas Faith: Can baseball bring you closer to God?

By Bill McKenzie/ Editorial columnist |  wmckenzie@dallasnews.com  | 1:04 pm on April 10, 2013

A tip of the hat to Daniel Kanter for this question. He sent along a link about New York UniversityPresident John Sexton’s book, Baseball as a Road to God.

Sexton has taught on a course on this subject for more than a decade, where, as this review suggests, he uses “baseball to illustrate the elements of a spiritual life.” I have not read his book, but the link I am sending along — along with this E.J. Dionne column — report that he uses writings about the game, its characters and its rituals to suggest that “we can touch the spiritual dimension of life” through baseball.

His co-author, former Boston Globe columnist Thomas Oliphant, put his own twist on this in a CBS essay. Oliphant talked about “the special feelings in seemingly secular settings that suggest the spiritual. The feelings can be as powerfully simple as having a catch with your dad, or watching the St. Louis Cardinals come back twice from being one strike away from elimination in the World Series, or actually hearing Jackie Robinson breathe as he sprinted home.

Now, some of us who are Texas Rangers fans may equate watching the Cardinals come back twice from being one strike away from losing the World Series — to us — as a near-death experience. But there is a point here worth discussing:

Do secular settings like a baseball game lead us to the spiritual dimension of life? If so, what are those for you? In what ways does the secular lead you to a deeper spiritual understanding?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism

John Sexton has comfortably laid out the religious template of, “sacred places and time, faith and doubt, blessings and curses,” on the game of baseball. Not only the secular settings of a baseball game, but even a movie, intense sexual experience, worship or a good political happening can lead us into spiritual dimensions of life.

The analogy of waiting for the season to start with great fervor and starting all over again with a clean slate parallels the wait for Christmas, Easter, Passover, Ramadan, Navaratri, Paryushan and other festivities. It is an opening everyone looks forward to after an exhaustive completion of another year. Indeed, Sexton puts it aptly, “Opening day encourages us every year to seek a path to serenity and transcendence.”

The same template becomes operative when we watch a good movie, and go through crying, getting angry, cursing and rejoicing the movie in every which way. We feel a sense of spirituality with that connection. Like worship, it transforms one from one status of mind to a renewed one. Indeed, the ultimate sexual experience when two people feel completely connected with each other in body and mind takes them into a new spiritual dominion.

On the night of November 4, 2008, when President Obama stood in the middle of millions of Americans soaking in the election victory, tears rolled down my eyes and I let them roll unchecked. This victory represented the pinnacle of civilization, that every human being regardless of his background can make it in America. That night, more than half of the whole world cried. It gave hope to everyone on the planet that if you have the ability, you can make it. It paved the way for every human across the world in every nation. A sense of safety permeated through my body, giving me chills knowing that a new era in the history of civilization had begun. America once again would lead the world in democratic pluralism. To me, it was an intense spiritual experience.

Spirituality means many things to many people. In the simplest terms, it is like “being home” – a state of mind where you are transformed from apprehensions, frustrations and phobias of life to a sense of security, safety and serenity.

.To see all the 15 responses, please visit:  http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/texas-faith-god-and-opening-day.html/

  ....
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 Americaand 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 onSean 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 atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal sitewww.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Prayers for Hurricane Sandy

PLURALISM PRAYERS OF HEALING

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/10/prayers-for-hurricane-sandy.html

 

 

 

Mike Ghouse

www.MikeGhouse.net
www.Foundationforpluralism.com

www.AmericaTogetherfoundation.com

www.TheGhouseDiary.com

 

My first day in New York and NYPD

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-first-day-in-new-york-and-nypd.html

My passport picture 1979

On December 6, 1979, I landed in New York straight from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and stayed at YMCA. Then I went for a walk in Manhattan...a gang of nearly eight men chased me, calling me an Iranian, like a stupid, I waved them my passport, that I was an Indian...one of them shouted, you' all are the same. I am glad they did not snatch it away...

I was told by my American fellow workers in Dhahran, not to go to New York for a visit, it is a different country... "we don't own it".. most of them were Californians. NY at that time was different as well.

Anyway, I did not know what to do, so I ran towards a police officer far away... the guys chased me, I was fast... I used to run 6 miles every morning in Saudi... when they saw I was closer to the police officer, they held back. I asked the officer if he can help me get to the subway, and he obliged.. the good man walked with me and waited till I boarded the sub....

I can never forget that day! The images are vivid. Elsewhere in the world, no one wants to be around cops, but this was a life changing experience to me, that I can go to cops. Since then, I have viewed cops as friendly folks guarding the safety of citizens. By the way, my daughter went through police training... she and I watched NYPD, she wants to be the shrink in that show… she has stayed the course and is graduating this Saturday and will pursue her Master in Social Work or Psychology. I have always had respect for police since then. The concept of police is different in the America, they are one of us living in our communities, I wish this approach becomes the norm in all other nations.

Of course there are bad cops, bad presidents of the United States, bad news reporters, bad Americans, bad Muslims, bad Christians, bad Jews, bad Palestinians, bad Indians, bad others, and bad parts of the city.... the 1% of badness in society is part of the whole we know, we see and interact. The evil is always 1% of everything in life and it will remain as such. It is up to us to see that 1% as 100% of a group or just 1%. of that group. I hope we learn to discern between 1% and 99%.

MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike 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 and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.