{"id":6763,"date":"2023-10-05T18:21:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T22:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=6763"},"modified":"2023-10-05T18:29:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T22:29:57","slug":"beloved-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/beloved-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

In\u00a0 1948,\u00a0 my cargo boat, docked\u00a0 in New York Harbor. \u00a0 Looking at the statue of Liberty, and sky scrapers, was overwhelming. \u00a0 The absence of check points between the states blew my mind!\u00a0 Instead, I saw \u201cPennsylvania welcomes you\u201d. \u201cMaryland welcomes you\u201d,\u201d Virginia welcomes you\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While at the Americanization School, in Washington, D.C, with immigrants from many countries, we learned the basic history of the United States, the constitution, and Democracy.\u00a0 President Harry Truman was running for election, \u00a0 against Gov. Thomas Dewey, of New York.\u00a0 One morning, Harry Truman held the front page of the New York Times, declaring\u00a0 \u00a0 Dewey, as the elected president!\u00a0 But the votes declared otherwise.\u00a0 Dewey, congratulated Truman, and wished him well.\u00a0 I saw this again, with Al Gore and G.W. Bush.\u00a0 Al Gore disagreed with the one \u00a0 Supreme Court vote in favor of Bush, but he accepted defeat, congratulated\u00a0 Bush, and\u00a0 said that the county was more important than he. And, when John McCain, lost to President Obama, he immediately congratulated the newly elected president, and said:\u00a0 \u201cHe is now my president\u201d!\u2014statesmanship at its finest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt, told the nation about the 4 freedoms: Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion, Freedom from want, and freedom from fear.\u00a0 We seldom locked our doors.\u00a0 We never feared walking anywhere, \u00a0 and we respected the separation of church and state.\u00a0 We trusted the news, and Walter Cronkite was never questioned. About 6% of the population was on food stamps, and rarely saw homeless on the streets.\u00a0 But in the 70s, things began to change, gradually, but relentlessly. .\u00a0 We started to lose our freedom from fear– afraid to walk alone in our streets, our kids afraid to go to school, afraid to go to a place of worship.\u00a0 Security systems and surveillance cameras, became ubiquitous, and police guards in every public building.\u00a0 Our government representatives are afraid to vote their conscious, citizens afraid to serve on juries, judges afraid to render justice.\u00a0 Dictatorships rule by fear, not consent; fear of government and of each other. Press: It is difficult to separate news form entertainment, and facts from fiction.\u00a0 Is that what we want and deserve?<\/span><\/p>\n

Want: In 2023, 12.5% of our citizens, double that of the 70s, receive food stamps, and the streets of our cities, are occupied by homeless citizens. The election of 2020 led to the destruction and desecration of our capital, the temple of democracy; not by a foreign foe, but by many of our fellow citizens. That election is still contested by many.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not the America I knew and loved.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0What kind of America will we leave to our children and grandchildren?\u00a0 Ben Franklin said \u201cwe have a republic if we can keep it.\u201d \u00a0 John Adams said\u00a0 \u201cI have yet to see a democracy that did not commit suicide.\u201d.\u00a0 Are we slowly committing suicide? \u00a0 Is our republic slowly dying, that, our grandchildren will know not, when it had died?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I cry and pray, for my beloved country, the United States of America\u2014a beautiful country, created by the people and for the people. \u00a0 Only we,, the people, can save it. Only we, the people, can destroy it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rashid Abdu, M.D. F.A.C.S.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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