Dear President Obama,
When you spoke from Turkey and then Egypt, in the first year of your presidency, I was filled with hope. I shared your speeches with everyone I know. We were all excited about the new prospects for peace, dialogue, and justice.
This time, I am not too excited about your speech from Indonesia. Don't get me wrong, I still support the promises and points you made in the speech (and I still have higher hopes for you than I ever did or will for Bush, Cheney or Palin). However, until you deliver on your old promises, I will not engage in celebrating new promises. I do not want to be part of promoting false expectations.
Guantanamo is still up and running. Israel continues to build illegal settlements, occupy Palestinian territories, and humiliate and prevent Palestinian refugees from returning to their homes and towns. US drones continue to harm civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan. India, which you just visited, continues to occupy Kashmir and mistreat Kashmiris. American Muslims continue to be harassed and abused by the FBI and at airports in their own country.
This time, I am not impressed and I will not be a cheerleader. I need real progress to have real hope.
With best regards,
Hussam Ayloush
(An American Muslim who campaigned and voted for you)
1 comment:
You ask too much.
America is a Democracy. How can a president deliver on a promise of change, if change isn't a realization for the House and the Senate first?
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