Remembering the We in "Yes We Can"

My friend Veena just posted this amazing, eye-opening piece on the blog for the Asian Law Caucus, where she works. It tempers the enthusiasm so many of us feel with the pragmatism she says we need to embrace to actually facilitate promised change. It is one of the most articulate post-inaugural pieces of writing I have read so far and definitely worth your time.

Day 1: Power to the People – not just the President

Posted on January 21, 2009 by asianlawcaucus
By Veena Dubal

On a bus somewhere between Marrakech and Rabat, we were asked how we felt about Obama. “In Morocco, we are optimistic about the new American President . . .” said Zayed, our guide, unsure about our reactions and how it would impact his tip. Not wanting our multifarious politics to disrupt our family vacation, I quickly replied from the back of the bus before the arguing could begin, “We are of different views.”

My boyfriend is a Republican. My radical brother voted on the Green ticket. My dad and brother-in-law, moved by the possibility of having a black man as President, voted for the first time in their lives. When I cast my ballot in November, I felt both the pull of my familial ties and my political convictions.

Let me be clear: I was not voting for McCain (sorry, Ry). But I had trouble fathoming the Obama-mania that consumed this country. Sure, it was exciting to have a black man run for President. But the identity politics surrounding support for Obama irked me – particularly when it came from the South Asian, Arab, and Muslim communities. What did it matter if we had a black President if it would be more of the same disastrous U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East? More slaughtering, more strangling, more empire-building?

Just a year ago, Obama spoke of strengthening the military and protecting “national interests,” using the phrase in order to move ambiguously between the interest of stopping terrorism against American citizens and the interests of big capital. Although he has called for withdrawal in Iraq, he has also expressed desire for a continued military presence in the region and refuses to rule out military action against Iran. Obama was the first and only presidential candidate to suggest an all out war in Pakistan. He, like candidates before him, bowed to the power of the Israeli Lobby (AIPAC) instead of taking a firm stance against colonialism and genocide in Palestine.

As a South Asian American – a postcolonial subject now part of the colonizing world – I wanted to vote for change – not for symbolism. I was crestfallen every time I heard a fellow community organizer and activist jokingly lament that little work would be left for us if Obama won the Presidency. I couldn’t believe my ears – if Obama was elected did that mean that racism, classism, and xenophobia were things of the past? Did that mean that I wouldn’t be called a “home grown terrorist” in the streets, that the police would never again kill an Oscar Grant, and that family would be legally defined by choice instead of by heterosexuality?

Weeks after I cast my ballot and just days after I silenced the broiling family debate in North Africa (a debate that aptly arose in a place that would be more affected by the new American President than I would be), I listened to Obama give his inaugural speech among fellow San Franciscans in front of City Hall. I – like many in the crowd – was blown away. He spoke to the need for multi-lateralism and increased social services; he pledged to work alongside the developing world and to stop this country from using the world’s resources. He promised to work with “old foes” and rejected “as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.” The roar of the crowd and my own rising hopes confirmed my suspicions: never has an elected official been so loved by people who are so innately critical.

Today, the morning after the inauguration, I sit at work and nurse the hangover of withered optimism. The speech was beautiful, but words are easy. If we the people don’t maintain a critical eye – a skill that became second nature during the Bush regime – the light of hope that Obama’s inaugural words put in each of us will flicker and die. We must remember the “we” in “Yes, we can.” As Americans, as Natives, as Immigrants, as Workers, we must step out from beneath the shadow of this man and once again embody our own convictions. We must remember how to be critics, how to protest, how to boycott, how to hold this President and this Empire accountable to the people of this country and the world.

...So That Our Kids Can Fly...

The Big Day

Looking for a last minute service-project to do today? There are myriad options on my.mlkday.gov and USAservice.org, both of which will provide you with lists of activities close to your home.

And tomorrow is the Big Day! Hail to the Change! Celebrate with your kids this evening with the Disney Channel, which is hosting the Kids Inaugural, featuring the first kids Sasha and Malia's favorite bands.

For fun facts to teach your kids about inaugurations past, and this particular inauguraiton, too, peruse “Our White House Inauguaration Celebration Kit!” created by the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. And if you are having an inauguration party with children in attendance, check out some of these great craft and party ideas to get the kids into the spirit of things.

Brown People Join Obama's Team

President-Elect Barack Obama (I love writing that) is filling out his transition team quickly, and there’s already word of brown people joining his administration. Sonal Shah is the first desi officially named to be on Obama’s advisory project, and today, Nicholas Rathod starts as Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. Nick is the chief liason between the Obama team, and governors and mayors from across the U.S. (Full disclosure: He’s also my cousin!)

Others we should hear about shortly who are expected to be on Obama’s team are Preeta Bansal, Neera Tanden, Subodh Chandra, Kris Kolluri, Hrishi Karthikeyan, and Dave Kumar.

It’s electrifying to see South Asian Americans at the head of government during this historic time. At one point or another, many of these people probably sacrificed a crapload of money to go the public route. I know my cousin did. I am gratified to see his difficult choice paying off as he takes on a leadership role in the most exciting moment of our age, and becomes a part of history.

This is everything our parents worked and sacrificed for. They left their home countries, picked secure careers, so that their children could have more opportunity. So now, their children are not only making money and excelling in every field, they’re giving back. They’re sitting at the table with people who view them as equals, as every bit American as they are. They’re shaping the American narrative with their own voices. And they’re deriving from the histories of their immigrant parents and grandparents to make policies. That can only mean good for the country.

Under Bush, Indian Americans in politics haven’t had as many opportunities as they will have now (Bobby Jindal excluded). I predict a wave of young Desis getting involved in the public sphere, because they feel that they can actually have a voice now. The man at the top is listening, and he wans them to be a part of the process. It’s not just about our interests as a community being represented; it’s about us feeling like we can finally give something back to this country, which has given us and our families so much.

If he were alive today, Gandhi would be proud of these desis, who are living exemplars of his sage advice: “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

Obama, One Week Later

The day after Barack Obama was elected President of the United States of America, my husband’s boss called him into his office.

“I know it’s been a few months since you’ve been working with us,” his boss said, “but am I pronouncing your name correctly?”

This is one of the many reasons we are elated – no, jubilant… no, ecstatic… actually, no word exists that describes how happy we are right now – about Barack Obama. He is the literal “other” that we’ve always been classified as, and as such, he makes people take a second look at us, rethink their attitudes about or treatment of us, and possibly even treat us with more respect. At the very least, he makes people think about how they're pronouncing our names.

It’s taken me a few days to muster up a response to the election of Barack Obama. I went through it all in stages. At first I was just stunned. Then, elated. Then, too emotional. Then, stunned again. My present mood would best be described as incredibly inspired. Obama makes me want to do everything really, really well. He barely had a father, was raised by a single mom on food stamps, and looked as different as the rest of us. So how do I have any excuse not to do my best? I want to be a better mom, writer, wife, sister, daughter, friend, neighbor, PTA member. In an Obama Nation, somehow, I think my efforts will be recognized, and rewarded. I actually live in a land where our leader was judged not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character. Somewhere, MLK Jr. is smiling.

Michelle Obama inspires me even more. She has been unapologetic about the fact that her first priority will always be her two girls. She even refers to herself as “Mom-in-Chief.” She says she wants to “get to work helping women juggle a career and motherhood.” Hallelujah! Her daughters are still young, so we will have a real, national emblem of working motherhood in the White House. And she and her husband seem so incredibly real.

I also love that the First Lady looks more like me. Not only does she have dark skin, but she’s got real hips and curves – in fact, it may do her well to check out some of our past styling advice for Devis! (Also, how cool are her boots, above?) I predict an onslaught of models of color and make-up lines geared towards women with dark complexions.

It feels weird to be so gung-ho about a President and First Lady. We're used to being extremely cynical about politicians and world leaders. Actually, we're cynical about a lot of stuff. But Obama has every reason to be more cynical than any of us, and he's not. He seems to really believe his own words about hope and change. He's not just feeding us a line; he means it.

Of course, our expectations of Obama are impossibly high. He’ll solve the economic crisis! He’ll reform healthcare! His election will lead to a new day in American poetry and literature! He’ll even cure the common cold! So far, he hasn’t let us down, especially as he signals that he’s going to move quickly to undo some of Bush’s worst dictums on stem-cell research and offshore drilling. But the world’s current love affair with Obama scares me, because, as high as he’s risen today, he has that far to fall. I hope he can manage all the pressure, and I hope people give him a break.

Obama comes as close to a national role model as many of us have seen our my lifetime. I’m going to try to remember that when the going gets tough.

Obama Nation Weekend

Happy Friday Devis. Hope your faces are still hurting from smiling. In taking it all in this weekend, catch a glimpse of the Obama celebrations throughout the world:

And if you are tech-y (like my brilliant sister), Obama-fy yourself here: http://www.dubster.com/obamafy/


(Plug-in created by Dubi Kaufmann)

Have a great weekend!

To Sir With Love

Dear Mister President-Elect:

We are still giddy, we are still unable to articulate our sentiments beyond "YES!", we feel proud to be a part of what you have created. We are writing to you as Devis, Devis with Babies, Brown Girls. You have captured our minds, our hearts, our fantasies. You are our President and while we might not have known we needed a leader, we are happy to have found it out. We cannot wait to see how this palpable joy and energy is leveraged. To you, our Rock Star President, some of the many, many, many reasons we are in love:

• Last night, because of you, hipsters, anarchists, cynics danced side by side in the streets of San Francisco, New York, Chicago, waving American flags and chanting words like "hope" and "change"...without irony.

• People are telling their kids that anything is possible...and believing it.

• You carried Virginia...Virginia! Macacas around the globe smile.
  

• We feel hopeful. This, in the face of wars, economic recession, looming environmental emergencies. We know you can't fix everything and you are one man. And yet: We feel hopeful.

• You can make fun of yourself and joke that your daughters find you "boring."
  

• Your election has redeemed our country in the eyes of our friends, family, fellow-Devis around the world. And: "Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place"--Nelson Mandela

• You pronounce Pakistan properly. (Why is it so hard?)

• We believe you. After being lied to by almost every public figure put before us in our adult lives: We believe you.

• You love, admire, and respect your wife.

• You tried to defeat Proposition 8.
  

• You can dance.And your list of favorite songs promises you will pick something better than "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" for your inauguration.

• You're smart. It's such a relief.

• You're a skinny brown guy with a "funny" name--you are our sons and husbands.
  

• You have given us the gift of being part of a historic moment...that is not also a tragic moment.
  

• You are going to unite us: "And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too."

Most of all: Our children--many of whom aren't even 3 yet--will get to become little people in a culture of respect and honor for our country. They will admire you. You can--and will!--usher in a world they will be proud of. You're gonna make them rock the vote better than MTV. One day, they can shake their heads and wonder about their weird old parents who talk about 8 years of doom, gloom, antipathy and moral vacuousness.

This is our moment. This is our time. We are ready. We are waiting.

Love,
Devis with Babies

Hell Yes, We Did!

Wow, wow, wow.

I woke up this morning wondering if it was all a dream. Barack Obama is our next president, and hope is alive. My sister called me last night and said, "Our daughters can take turns being president, yours in 2052, mine in 2058!!" Thanks to President Obama, anything’s possible.

Today should have been declared a national holiday, because we know not much work is getting done. Here's some of what we're reading instead of working....

Relive the moment it was announced.

Charles Blow explains perhaps the main reason it’s such a big deal, and makes me cry.

Michele Obama says her first role will still be "mom-in-chief." She also says she hopes to focus on ways women can maintain a work-family balance – AMEN!

Colin Powell gets emotional reacting to Obama's victory.

Celebs react to Obama’s election.

Chris Rock explains where all the black people are at today.

Relive the magic, pictorally.

Even the Indian IT sector feels good about Obama.

News flash: Some Obama supporters smoke weed!

And hopefully the last word for awhile on Sarah Palin: the defeated Republican VP candidate wears Spanx.

We'd love to hear your reactions to this historic win, Devis!

Brown Girls: Everyone's A Little Bit Racist?

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Michele Obama on Family Life

What's home life like when you're Barack Obama's wife? Michele Obama dishes on CBS. Things that we can relate to: She worries about her kids' Halloween costumes and future careers, and she says "I wish Barack wasn't so busy all the time." Guess we can't really complain about our husbands!

Brown Girls: Information Overload

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Introducing: "Brown Girls"--the Comic About South Asian Women

Guest Devi: Amina, Obama Campaign Field Organizer

Like the rest of the country, these days, when we get together with our fellow devis with babies, a lot of what we do is talk politics. Our dear friend Amina is putting her words into action by volunteering as a Deputy Field Organizer for the Obama campaign.

Amina, who is a working mom of the cutest little eight-month-old ever, Inara, is spending every weekend in October campaigning in Nevada. During the week she's phonebanking for the swing states. She’s also taking the week before the election off to do round-the-clock work for Obama.

We asked Amina to write about the intersection of mommyhood and getting politically involved. Her thoughts are below. Also check out the video she made with Inara! (see what we mean about cutest baby ever?)



How being a mom made me more political… or, how politics made me a better mom

I’m not sure which came first. It’s like the chicken and the egg scenario. Did becoming a mother make me more political or did my interest in politics make me a better mom?

I have been ‘into’ politics for a long time. I’ve always loved American history and that can plainly be attributed to a few great teachers whose love of America , its ideals and its creation led me to also love it. It’s also due in large part to being a first generation American, a child of immigrants to this country like so many of us are.

My parents instilled in my three sisters and me the values and beliefs of the American dream, that with hard work, dedication and a good education we could be anything that we wanted to be, that our opportunities were limited only by our desire to reach for them. Both things have given me a great love for this country, for its founding ideals and its enduring promise to all who aspire to it.

And despite the fact that I grew up in town where my sisters and I were the only Indians at our high school for quite a while, or that I went to mostly white schools and college in the middle of Illinois surrounded by cornfields, I’ve never felt like my ethnicity or my gender limited me in any way. And that’s because my parents said it didn’t and I believed them. I have never felt like these things limited my opportunities, I’ve only ever felt that if I didn’t get something, it’s because I didn’t work hard enough to get it.

Obviously this is somewhat naïve and I admit that. I know now that things don’t always or really work that way. I know now, as I look back on my childhood that there are stories I recall where I think I see the truth in those situations more clearly, where there have been biases and maybe racial prejudice.

But my reality is that while I knew I was different growing up, I never really felt like I couldn’t achieve something because of it. I just thought that I had to work harder, try more and make people see that I was like them, regardless of race, religion or gender. I tried hard to find that common ground that links us together as people. It was my way of making my way through this world.

And that brings me to today. In all that rambling, there are two things that come out of my upbringing that have fundamentally determined how I see the world. The first is an enduring love and belief in the American dream. My parents firmly believed that America was a land of opportunity, open to all who were willing to work hard for what they wanted. And the second is that there are more things we have in common than that separate us and it’s up to each of us to find those things, to seek them out in each other and to link our common humanity.

I had a daughter eight months ago and while I knew all of this was there, somewhere below the surface, it only became more relevant, more powerful and more poignant when I had her. Holding her every day, watching her grow, seeing her smile, I feel that it’s my job, my duty, to provide for her, to protect her, to insure that all the wonderful things from my childhood are there for her.

I want her to have the same opportunities that my dad had when he came to this country, that my sisters and I had growing up, and that every child in this country deserves. Unfortunately, I see that future disappearing before my eyes. As we watch the financial markets tank, the public schools deteriorate, the climate change dramatically, the infrastructure in this country crumble, the wars around the world escalate, and the belief that this country is a beacon of hope and freedom diminish, I wonder what kind of life my daughter will have. I’m scared that she won’t have the same chance at striving for and achieving her American dream that I did. And that’s sad. No parent ever wants their child to have less than they did.

And that’s why my fascination and interest in politics has turned into action. At 33, this is the first time I’ve ever become so politically active and it’s because I think we stand at a fork in the road. The road to the future has never seemed so clear and at the same time so out of reach for so many. I can no longer sit on the sidelines, talk about politics and vote, but do nothing of consequence, nothing that actually creates change.

I have to act, not only for me, for my future, but for my daughter’s future, for her cousins and friends’ future, and for the millions of children around this country who deserve the same chance I had at achieving their American dream.

So I’m not sure if becoming a mom made me more political or if being into politics made me a better mom. All I know is that I’ve become a mom who wants to fight for her daughter’s future every step of the way. I am no longer content in watching as the future unfolds I want to be there, to shape it, to make it better every day, for her. I want her to know that I did everything I could, not only for this historic election, but also during all the times and for all the things that mattered most to her.

So while I do feel bad that I’ll miss every weekend of October with her and that I’ll miss her first Halloween while campaigning for Obama in Nevada, I hope that someday she understands that I was doing what I thought was best, for her, for our family and for the country that I love.

-Amina

Questions for Sarah Palin from a Working Mom

No matter which side you're on, tonight's vice presidential debate is significant for working mothers. A mother of five kids, including one with Down syndrome, and a grandchild on the way will be up there spouting her views on everything from health care to tax reform (often in the same garbled sentence).

Questions about her personal life, of course, will not be asked. But if I could, here are some of the questions I'd like to ask Sarah Palin, as a working mom.

1. Come on, now. You expect us to believe that as governor of Alaska, you've been able to raise five kids without any paid childcare? Tell us the truth. Tell us what a day-in-the-life of Sarah Palin's kids looks like. Who gets them dressed in the morning? Who picks them up? Who makes sure they eat their veggies and reads to them and tucks them in? You owe it to working moms across America to tell the truth.

2. If you are ready to take on the second most important role in U.S. politics while raising five kids, more power to you. But aren't you conflicted? Aren't there days when you think, "Screw these questions about Supreme Court decisions and Russia-U.S. relations. I'd rather be home watching Spongebob with Trig and Track."

3. How do you square away the fact that you exposed your unwed pregnant teenage daughter to so much national scrutiny when you decided to go for the vice presidency? Was there ever a time when you thought, "Hey, she'll be going through enough as an unwed teen mom. Maybe I should take one for the team and spare her all the scorn, ridicule and shame."

4. Now tell us how you really feel.

VOTE

Your voice as a woman counts. Your voice as a mother counts. Your voice as a Devi counts. Your voice as a Devi with a Baby counts. Make sure your voice gets counted. If you aren't registered yet it is ridiculously easy to register here: www.voteforchange.com

Some more humor on this humorless day

Check out the New Yorker cover. Lovin' it...

A Short Break from Armageddon

Is it me, or does it feel like Armageddon is coming? I’ve spent the last few days trying to get a grasp on what’s happening on Wall Street, and now with the proposed government bailout. I’ve turned to NPR, which usually has some great, in-depth programs on financial matters. I’ve read the Times, the Journal, the Economist. All that’s happened is I’m more confused now than I was at the beginning of the week.

There’s a complete lack of leadership on this issue. I think it’s because the leaders have no clue what’s going on, either. What does a $700 billion bailout plan even mean for America five or ten years down the line? Nobody seems to be able to say for sure, and it can’t be good. But the option is that factories will shut down, hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs, and house values will be slashed even more than they are now? Or is that just more fear-mongering by the Bush administration?

I’m not sure how this ties into the whole mommy theme (other than me worrying about how much debt we’re saddling our children with). I just needed to unload. Tomorrow I’m going to try to spend the day away from the news, and just hang out and laugh with my daughter. Thank God for little kids.

Going back to Delhi... I don't think so

Years from now, my daughter may ask me, “Mommy, where were you during the economic crash of ‘08?” It’s a very possible question, with the weekend’s news of the end of Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch, and the possible near-future collapse of A.I.G. Reading the pages of the New York Times, it really does feel to me as if the world as we know it is about to end. Everyone is saying it’s really bad this time, things are going to change, America is going down. But then again, maybe it feels particularly bad to me because this is the first major economic downturn I’ve experienced with any financial responsibilities. Back in the relatively minor downturn of 2001, I was just getting married, no property in my name or major debt on my balance sheet.

Of course, the old adage applies: Kids change everything. It was a kid that made us think of buying a house, so that she could have a “real home” to grow up in. A kid makes us think of socking away money so that private school is an option if the local schools don’t work out. A kid makes me want to have enough to give her everything I had the privilege of having, and then some. And a kid would make me think of altering my life considerably – selling my house, moving to a different country where there is more opportunity – so that hers can be better.

Is this is going to happen? Is the situation going to get so dire in America that we’ll have to leave? I don’t think so . But I don’t think my dad thought he’d leave India either in his youth. Things happen, and you have to be ready. My husband and I have a little joke that, if it gets really bad here, we’ll just move to India, which is poised to be one of the next superpowers. How ironic would it be if, 40 or 50 years after my family migrated to this country, we migrated back? It’s almost like a Bollywood movie! But you never know, do you.

Better go brush up on my Hindi.