LETTER: Arab Americans need to be bridges to understanding
A message to our Arab American and Middle Eastern residents:
My countrymen have traditionally struggled with accepting and assimilating new immigrants and their different values and cultures.
Many Americans can empathize with your struggles to be accepted due to what their grandparents, parents and they experienced when they first came to this country from such places as Poland, Italy, Ireland and Mexico. We live in troubled times and the fears of further terrorist attacks and border security issues have caused great concern and confusion amongst our people. These fears have been exploited by some for political gain and those folks only offer hyperbole and simple-minded solutions.
Do not lose faith in the American people. We are good people. However, some of us struggle with change and accepting different ways of doing things. But in time, we usually accept and assimilate the best of those differences just as new immigrants adopt and incorporate the best of our traditional American values.
Please know that we continue to rely on you to be our special ambassadors and envoys. We need you to be the bridge of understanding and cooperation between the United States and the Middle East. The present administration will soon pass and the most American of values – acceptance, liberty and the protection of those who are different — will prevail.
Give us the American people time to educate ourselves and eventually we will get it right. As you are gradually seeing, one day hummus, falafel, Ramadan and fattoush will be as integral to the American way of life as kielbasa, spaghetti, St. Patrick’s Day and tacos are today.
Steve Arnold
Dearborn
