In “The Politics
of Mothering,” Nora Murad discusses mixed families and the different contexts
and situations where variations in cultures, societies, and identities affect
people and families with blended races, religions, and nationalities. Murad
provides an autoethnography concerning her experiences of mothering in an
American-Jewish and Palestinian-Muslim family. Clearly, Murad’s families (her husband’s
and her own) have experienced life, religious practices, values, etc. in
various manners. The most
compelling and interesting account occurs within the context of their American
community after 9/11. Patriotism and American values became intertwined and dominate in
American society, and Murad recounts an incident at her daughter's school. Her daughter was required to complete an art project that involved the U.S. flag. Murad writes, “To me, the U.S.
flag is a symbol of war and hypocrisy and misplaced patriotism for a national
entity when loyalty to humanity is called for” (498). From our privileged
American positions, we can find it difficult to comprehend why someone else could view the
U.S. flag differently than we do. The U.S. supports Israel’s illegal, military
occupation of Palestine (this is debated). The U.S. is involved in numerous military
actions in many Muslim nations which result in deadly consequences for
Arab/Muslim people. (The Arab-Israeli conflict is complicated, and I am no expert). But the fact that others have different views and beliefs should
not open them up to discrimination or violence.
Murad
recalls the psychologists her daughter's school provided to speak to the families about the effects
of 9/11 on their children. The focus was on American children with no regard to
Arab or Muslim families for whom the threat of military action in the Middle East
was very real. Murad recalls feeling judged unfavorably for teaching her children about
their Arab identities. She writes, “They implied I had unnecessarily ‘outed’ my
children as Arabs for my own political ends. Whites teach their White children
who they are and that’s neutral, but I teach my children they are Arab and that’s political” (498). I think we can see this situation played out in several different
contexts with varying content. Why is Murad accused of politicizing her beliefs?
Because her views differ from dominant society’s. Are there other
instances where this occurs for other communities? Can American patriotism and American values be oppressive?
At my high school we learned all about European history. White history. The only time that we covered the history of people with other backgrounds was when their lives intersected those of the whites. They only real way a student can learn about their own heritage (if they weren't white) is to research it themselves. Which is fine and all, but then that is the only student that knows and understands the background of those people. The white students are still basically oblivious until they are forced to recognize it. Whereas "other" students are forced to understand other people's history.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question, "Can American patriotism and American values be oppressive?"
ReplyDeleteI would say yes, because America places system-wide constraints on certain groups which limits their freedom in many ways. Regardless of how people may see it, oppression is when people reduce the potential for other people to be who they truly are or to be looked at and become less human. In agreement with Ron, I can't think on a time during my K-12 education that I learned about anything other than European history. Slavery would be the only other discussable topic as it relates to whites. As stated in class, it is often times that we don't recognize the level of privilege that we have, even though there is still levels of inequalities present to some Americans. With the lack of education and knowledge of other cultures, there leaves room for misconceptions as seen in the movie Babel.
I would also agree that American patriotism and American values can be oppressive, but I would add that this is not a concept that is unique to our country. Murad had to be on her toes while visiting her husband's family as well, because her words, at any given time, could have been perceived as hostile if she ventured into political matters. It is saddening that Murad seemed to so easily discredit the same country that allowed her to so freely engage in such a relationship and marriage. Speaking out in any way can get you killed in some countries. That is not to say that Murad would never face adversity, but facing adversity is how change is accomplished, especially when change is allowed in that environment. America does have its faults, but it's not "all" bad. We are changing slowly but surely, and these types of changes take generations to achieve. They did not start with us, but they will not end with us. I also tend to agree that k-12 educations tend to be generally vague, but I see my younger children getting more multicultural information than what I saw for my son who is college- age. America's dynamic is changing, and the growing minority and the diversity of it demands recognition simply by it's existence. I feel that it is also up the the parent to educate their child about our world and not just the responsibility of the school.
ReplyDelete