Reality Changes
Dependence of Constancy is Dangerous
Perspectivas Episodes #1 Definitions
The reason that I decided not to toss the question away into the bin marked “No Action Required” is a conversation that I had in a parking lot in Simi Valley, California about 10 years ago … the question is not going away.
I met a military spouse who was working a one of the drug store chains (I cannot remember which one). She approached me because it was evening and I was wearing a military jacket (a real one), I am a USAF veteran. She asked if I had been overseas, then she started t explain her experience in returning to the States. Her observations are close to what many U.S. citizens have experienced, with little explanation from the government (or the corporations backing the policies). However, for service-members, like her family and even for myself it change in ‘the States’ was even more pronounced because after a memory of ‘the States’ circa 1982, an extended period abroad, living mostly on military bases, and return to the new version of ‘the States’ there has seemingly been a remarkable ‘change’ in population of the country. This is NOT a bigoted or racist statement: you’d have to be brain dead not to notice.
She had a culture shock when her family “returned home” because the “home” that she left was not “the home that they found” when they returned.
My experience was a bit different because while I initially went overseas with the military:
1. Overseas, I lived on the economy inside the country community instead of on the U.S. bases.
2. After a few years with the U.S. military overseas, I found a job at the United Nations where I worked with people from everywhere on international aide, world bank, and international business concerns.
3. University degree focused on interdisciplinary study, international relations, and international affairs: not foreign policy or foreign affairs
[The difference is in the perspective …]
Additionally, I speak several languages and adapt to various cultures easily; so, I was never exactly and ‘outsider’ anywhere that I lived.
Still, when I returned ‘home’ I did notice a change: not good or bad, just a difference.
I will make some rare political/national observations here:
It is a combination of unfortunate, misleading, and possibly even dangerous to encourage people to think that there is a way to recapture the past: in truth, the more homogeneous, nation-state version of the United States and most other countries that was perceived to exist is over. It is not coming ‘back’ from anywhere.
No one can deliver on that promise. Stirring up nostalgia or xenophobia or insularity is a ploy to gain support from those with considerable discontent on the ‘new reality’ of multinational existence.
On the upside, we are one Planet now … the borders practically do not matter because mobility, communications, and corporate livelihood make them effectively irrelevant, in my opinion.
Nonetheless, for those not working in the Technology sector who still live in locations where an American-owned and operated company employees only Americans, I a certain that the “U.S. is only us” perspective could still prevail.
Therefore, whatever you may have learned, especially in schools about the United States being mostly ‘white’ ‘Americans’ … if you do not realize it already, was an (intentional) misconception, if not a fallacy.
Perspectivas — Episode#2
Residency: Limit the number of years that individuals of worker visas could stay in the United States.
Citizenship: Regrading citizenship, individuals born in the United States to parents without naturalized citizenship, mainly foreign workers would not be categorized as U.S. citizens: they would be citizens of the country of origin of the parents.
Re-enact/extend a law that used to discourage Americans from marrying Iranians in the 80s. IF an American marries a non-U.S. citizen from any of the following countries, the result is loss of citizenship
Government Action
1-Statistics
The government could stop asking ignorant “ what are you” questions on forms to collect useless, meaningless, ‘demographic’ data that encourages racism, bigotry, and quotas to promote the artificial narrative around support for equality.
2-Education
Launch a social community campaign to educate people
3-Require equal pay for equal work
women and non-’white’ males who are natural-born U.S. citizens are available and employable, yet corporations prefer workers on visas who they can pay less which is the primary reason for the perceived increase
This is the root cause for the situation that I think you are trying to address [I could interpret the root cause differently, however, I am making a conscious choice to extent the courtesy of not assuming that the questions is motivate solely by ignorance or hate.]
Those are the measures that could be “legal” from the federal government in the United States.
Perspectivas — Episode#3 | Posted Aug 4, 2016
Perspectivas … WHY would she take the time to respond to a question such as this?
I started learning Spanish formally in eighth grade. Several years later, when there was more literature and culture in the course content, my teacher handed out a book at the beginning of class, entitled Perspectivas. The word resonated with me ‘flipped on the brights’ … it dawned on me for the first time that everything that I had studied in school in history, geography, social studies, especially literature was really about humans perspective on the environment in which they live: on situations or events that occur.
The ‘surface’ of the question as we are confronted with it is quite … unpleasant, at least for me. Yet, looking underneath I can realize that there is a struggle to understand, to be validated, and most of all ‘familiar’ with the circumstances in which the person lives.
In my view, belonging and familiarity are not about being ‘white’ or deciding who is, isn’t, considered ‘white’ or minimizing the number of people who are not ‘white’ it is something much more important and spirit-based.
