My message to the Democrats

On Friday, August first, I was invited to  testify before the committee writing the  2008 platform for the Democratic Party. An excerpt from my testimony follows:

I am Arab American. My family came to this great country from Lebanon almost a century ago. They, like hundreds of thousands of other Arab immigrants, came because of the freedom America promised, and the opportunity it provided.

Beginning in a little enclave in Brooklyn, where Kahlil Gibran wrote his most famous work, Arab Americans fanned out across the country. Like the rest of their generation, they survived two Great Wars and a Depression. Yet, despite the hardships they endured and because of the sacrifices they made, they were able to provide their children with the better life they had hoped to find when they arrived on our shores.

In the past sixty years, the descendants of that first wave have been joined by new waves of immigrants from across the Arab world. Today there are almost four million Arab Americans. Though a diverse community, we share two core beliefs: a love and appreciation of the greatness of America, and a respect for and an attachment to the heritage of our ancestors.

We approach this election, profoundly aware of its importance. Like most Americans, we know that the past eight years have been devastating for our nation. The recklessness and neglect demonstrated by the Bush Administration have taken a toll.

At home, we face a shrinking economy, and a loss of confidence in our institutions and our future. As a result, for many, the American dream that inspired millions is in danger of becoming out of reach. And many Americans in the middle class are no longer confident that their children will be able to match their standard of living.

In the face of these great challenges, the Bush Administration has displayed the characteristics that have become their hallmarks: neglect when action might have made a difference; ignoring reality and, instead, imposing ideologically-based policy when they do act; and, when they inevitable fail, either working to change the subject or dumping down the definition of victory.