WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE ?
By Achamma Chandersekaran
We, Asian Indians, come from a democracy that gives us the freedom to pursue our destiny, and the United States Constitution provides all the rights and privileges an immigrant can wish for. As such, one would expect us to take an active part in the democratic process in this country. However, there are many among us who are reluctant to become citizens of this country and many become citizens solely to sponsor relatives for immigrant visa, and show no interest in the political process here. There seems to be a lack of foresight as to how we or our children will get into the mainstream in this country. The Indian American Forum for Political Education considers the political path the best way to get into the mainstream.
Asian Indians have a history of migrating to different countries in the world and staying as a separate community even after living there for two or three generations. In countries that do not grant many privileges to immigrants people may be forced to live separately.
But we need to realize that rights under the U.S. Constitution are some of the best an immigrant can get anywhere in the world because this is a country of immigrants.
Even though we are educated, we often do not take on the civic and social responsibilities that come with our rights under the U.S. Constitution. Why?
Is it the good life here that makes us take the easy way out: living as immigrants without the responsibilities of a citizen for twenty, thirty or even forty years? Or is it because we are not mature enough to make a choice when we are not forced to make one? Some people consider this life on the fence s getting the best of both worlds: the economic and professional advantages of living and working in the United States and the cultural advantages of retiring in India. But I say they may be losing the best of both worlds: they forgo the pride and privilege of living here as citizens, and their dreams about retirement could easily be shattered and they may have to come back here to their children and friends.
Reading in the Wall Street Journal of (month missing) 27, 1987, that we are a unique community of first generation Americans because of the higher educational level and our fluency in the English language, accent and all, made us feel good. This combination of education and proficiency in English has enabled us, as first generation, to reach a professional and economic level which other ethnic groups took generations to reach. But questions come up time and again: What are we doing with this uniqueness for ourselves and our children? What do we do different from other ethnic groups in this country? Other first generation ethnic groups had to work hard to help their children to reach a higher social and economic level. But their second generations have governors, senators, congressmen and local officials. How will our second generation compare with other second generations? Will we have governors, senators, congressmen and local officials among our second generation?
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Having a good education and being wealthy alone do not help us to live the way we want to in this country. The recent happenings in New Jersey and other parts of this country have made some people realize how things can suddenly change around. Some people have also realized that if all the Asian Indians in the areas concerned were American citizens and they were active in the political process in their areas, they would not have had the problems they had, as long as they did. They would have known who to contact and what to do. What has happened has happened. What can we do for the future?
First of all we cannot have one foot here and the other in India. If you have made the decision to live in this country, also make the commitment to this country. In the latest INDIAN AMERICAN, the newsletter of the Forum, a young man in his mid- twenties who works as the Senior Policy Analyst for Domestic Programs at the White House, Mr. Dinesh D’Souza, had a short article on why Asian Indians should become U.S. citizens. He said it very well when he wrote, ‘I do not believe the choice involves saying that one country is preferable-or better than the other. To the extent that this is an issue, it is raised when we make a decision about where to work and where to live. In making our homes in the United States, voluntarily and without coercion, we have already made an important statement about the relative advantages of living here compared to living elsewhere.
‘The main reason for Asian Indians in America to consider becoming citizens is that as people who reap the enormous benefits of living in this society…we should assume part of the responsibilities that make possible such liberty, prosperity and human dignity.’
We need to show our maturity by taking on some responsibilities along with the benefits we reap from here. We need to show our integrity by fulfilling our responsibility to this society instead of just taking whatever we can get from it. All the talk about dual citizenship and retirement in India are excuses for not making a decision. India has 800+ million people. They are not waiting with open arms to receive us back. After 30 or 40 years, how many people will we know there? How many friends will we have there? Our children are going to be here and our friends are here. Let’s be realistic. We should not give up the pride and satisfaction of living as citizens in this country for this vague dream about retiring in India. We need to decide to cross the bridge of retirement when we get to that. Let us live life to the fullest until then.
If a bride does not want to leave her parents and go with her husband to his house wouldn’t we say: ‘Why on earth did she get married?’ Citizenship is similar. Some Americans are asking the same type of questions: ‘If you don’t want to become a citizen why are you here?’ ‘If you want to go back to India, why don’t you go now?’ When we decide to take one step, there are others you have to take along with that. If you decided to live here and work here, for whatever reason, have the honesty and integrity to fulfill the responsibilities of being part of this society.
At the last Annual Conference of the Asian American Voters Coalition, the Director of Public Relations of Philip Morris said that at Philip Morris all employees are required to register and vote because of the saying, ‘if you don’t vote, you don’t count.’ Philip Morris may have its own reasons for saying that, but that should set us thinking.
One of the unfortunate results of the apathy and indecision on our part, is the impact of this ‘not being counted’ situation on our children. All our education does not seem to help us realize that our children may have problems we did not experience because they are growing up in a society where they cannot identify with the mainstream. If we took the time and trouble to understand their insecurity and ambivalence, I am sure we will do the things that will give them a sense of belonging and the pride of being counted. If we think that by getting them into some of the best schools in this country and financing their education we take care of our responsibilities as parents, what two students from Yale University had to say regarding their problems, at the Voters Coalition Conference would have been very revealing.
The best thing we can do for our children to get them into the mainstream is to give them the sense of being counted. Political participation is perhaps the best way for this.
In the last local elections there was one contest in Connecticut that ended up in a tie.Wouldn’t you have liked to cast the deciding vote? That’s where one realizes that every vote counts.
At this point in time –we have less than a year for the next general elections-I have one request to make: Please participate in the political process. If you are not a citizen, become a citizen. If you file your papers now, you will get your citizenship in time to register and vote in the 1988 elections. Once you become a citizen, register to vote and on election day take the time to cast your ballot. The right to vote is a right that needs to be exercised and not set aside for any reason. Make your children feel that they count. Make your elected officials realize they are accountable to you for their action.
All of us naturally like to help India in whatever way we can. As much as India needs the dollar and technology from here, the best thing we can do for India is to be come citizens and influence our elected officials to have better relations with India. United States and India are two democracies and closer ties between the two countries are a logical step. But things are not that simple in foreign policy matters. Have you ever wondered why India seems to have very few friends on the Hill when they are needed most? One reason is that we who live here do not do our part. Even to help India, we can do well only if we are politically involved.
If our children do not keep up our uniqueness in doing so well, it will be partially because we are only concerned about our professional achievements and are too busy accumulating wealth. We are not willing to face up to our responsibilities as immigrants to this great country nor do we take time to think about anything or anyone other than just ourselves. We need to realize that we are doing very well. We don’t have to open another office and spend a few hours there to expand our business. Please let us not say that we are doing this for our children. They don’t need money they can make it on their own. There is help they need now, as they are growing up, to live up to their full potential. Let’s take the time to understand the real needs of our children and think about some of the responsibilities we have as members of this society. Let us use our wealth and our education wisely to give our children a sense of belonging, a direction to get into the American mainstream and pride in their democratic ancestry as well as in being part of this great, vibrant democracy.
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