So I'm usually about as politically active as other Indian Americans (which, unfortunately, is not at all). When religious conservative candidates make comments about their beliefs, I usually fail to recognize that by "religious" they mean Christian. This, however, goes too far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=B2emBxDOY7g
For those who don't want to watch the video, Republican Presidential nominee Rick Santorum is being endorsed by an evangelical pastor. The pastor begins with a soliloquy about how those who dissent to the "American Way" can get out. And he specifies the American Way: we do not worship Buddha, Allah, or Mohammad. I do find it a bit humorous since no one worships Buddha or Mohammad, and since Allah is Arabic for God. But let's get serious here; the only reason he didn't mention Lord Vishnu or Lord Shiva is because Indian Americans like me are so politically inactive that no one even knows we live in this country.
OK, I know that politicians don't necessarily assent to every word spoken by the pastors who endorse them (e.g. President Obama's pastor who said "God damn America"). But if this guy had made a similar statement about Judaism, the Anti-Defamation League would have utterly destroyed his career and seen to it that Santorum never win the nomination unless he disavows him. But of course, Indian Americans are politically complacent because our parents from India taught us that getting a 4.0 and becoming a doctor or engineer (but preferably doctor) is the only thing that matters in life.
I hope what Mom and Dad taught me is true, because if this guy gets elected, then our kids are all going to be Christians. And I don't mean that we'll send them to college where evangelicals will make friends with them, subtly convince them that they're going to hell for being Hindu, and get them to convert. As per this pastor's directive, some government task force will march into Hindu temples and give us all the choice of baptism or deportation. But as long as the kids are doing well in school it's OK, right?
As some of you might know, I detest the Indian apathy for politics and the arts, and this is why. For some reason our Jewish friends are untouchable by politicians and the media, yet despite our similar economic power we are not. Jews dominate every aspect of American culture, yet that sort of influence has thus far eluded our community. In appealing to the "God of Abraham," this pastor echewed any connection to anti-semitism, but he had no trouble assailing the Indian religious figure Gautama Buddha. This is because Indians are idiots with respect to affairs of state; we're so busy doing our homework that we ignore cultural figures who have the ability to negatively affect our lives. This is why the Indian American agenda is irrelevant to American politicians, and I'm willing to bet it's why the Indian government is defunct.
Being an idiot, I don't know if it's in our best interest for Santorum to lose the nomination outright, or for him to win it so as to present Obama with a weaker challenge in the general election. And being no better than the average Indian American, I won't hypocritically implore you all to go out and donate to HAF, lobby to have Santorum thrown out of office, or, God forbid, run for office yourself (though it'd be nice if you did). However, if you are an Indian or a Western Hindu and an American citizen, I will urge you to put down the math textbook for a few minutes to go out and actually vote. It's a simple thing that you can do in a few minutes before your circuit design exam, and in a polarized political climate such as this, just a few people failing to vote can easily sway an election. These Christians have no problem "voting God," whatever that means. Well, if we don't likewise vote in favor of the Indian American agenda, some pastor like this is going to burn down all our temples and shove ground beef hamburgers down our throats. Then it won't matter if your kid got into med school, because he'll be thrown out of the country before he has a chance to start classes next fall.
Sorry for my angry rant, I promise to behave myself better in future posts.
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