Urdu Hindi language poetry on pluralism اُردو / हिंदी Mushaera on anekantvad and takseeriyat

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Invitation to Hindi/ Urdu Speaking friends; ( Urdu/Hindi versions follow the English version below)

 Urdu Hindi اُردو / हिंदी Mushaera on Pluralism
Venue: Richardson Civic Center
411 W. Arapaho Road, Richardson, TX 75080
 Saturday, June 29, 2013
7:45 PM – 11:00 PM  – Limited Seating
Must RSVP to Confirmattendance@gmail.com

   

 We request you to participate in one or many ways;


To be our guest attendee. 
To write a poem based on the theme of Pluralism
To recite your poem in the Musha’era/ Summelan
To seek poets who can write 
To be a volunteer
To be a sponsor 
Selected poetry will be published in a booklet
 
If you want to bring a change to the society, be the propeller. 

Hamari  تہذيب  (tehzeeb) ho, ya संस्कृति (sanskriti), we have always respected each other. However, that element of the culture is depleting and causing distrust and discomfort with each other.  Can we let this happen? I hope not.  

Poetry is one of the pillars of our  सभ्यता , تمدن and it is in our interest to leave a better world for our نسلपुश्त or posterity.  Indeed, we can revive that tradition.  

Let us consciously work towards creating संसक्त  समाज,  معاشرہ  چسپندہ or  cohesive societies where no one has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. The mere idea of thinking and writing such thoughts in our poetry is seeding the future; indeed, this is a small step, and hope it will become a giant leap for the Urdu/Hindi speaking populations of the Subcontinent, برِصغیرमहाद्वीप in building cohesive societies.

This program will be a model program to be placed on the world wide web, and seek publication in major Urdu/ Hindi media. With your  सहायताتعاون and help, we can invite the giants of poetry in Hindi and Urdu to write the poems, if they are in Dallas, they can recite it as well. 

Pluralism in one sentence is about respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us. It involves building cohesive societies and creating an environment where no human has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

The words that best describe Pluralism in Hindi are: Anekāntavāda (Devanagari:अनेकान्तवाद) and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (Sanskrit: वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम) and in Urdu it is تَکثیریت (we are still looking for the right word).  
I have been researching, writing and speaking on Pluralism for the last twenty years with articles in Dallas Morning news (150), fortnightly in Huffington Post (50), Washington  Post (10)  and several other periodicals around the glove including live workshops (28)  and radio programs (520 hours)  on the wisdom and essence of all the beautiful religions.  And one of the three books called “Standing up for others” will be released at the Mensa Conference in Fort worth on July 4th.

You can choose a variety of topics inclusive of religion, humor, culture, food, language and day to day living.  How do we get along respectfully with each other!
 
The poetry will be sensitive and respectful of every religion, race, ethnicity, gender, color and nationality. It’s a conscious step in advancing our culture of respecting each other’s uniqueness.  The completed poetry must be in by June 15th to make it to the book.

We hope to place a book in the hands of every major poet, कवि  and شاعِر.  Indeed, this will be a small step, and hope it will become a giant leap for Urdu/ Hindi speaking populations in learning to respect and accept each other’s uniqueness.

We seek funding for this project and I hope you can fund it generously.  You can make the check to America Together Foundation (foundation for Pluralism is its dba) or pay through credit card at:http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/ 

We hope you will walk out with a sense of belonging to the whole humanity.

 

FUTURE SOCIETIES

By the end of 2020, there will not be a major city, where you will not find people of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities, races, nationalities and social backgrounds working, eating, playing, marrying, and doing things together.
We need to prepare ourselves for such eventualities to prevent possible conflicts, and lay a good foundation for nurturing goodwill and effective functioning of the societies. Exclusive communities will become a thing of the past. If you live amidst others, you must also respect the otherness of others, as you expect them to do the same for you.
If we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
 
 

PLURALISM IN HINDI-URDU

I need your help in figuring the word for pluralism in Urdu and Hindi. I have been searching many dictionaries and many translations of the word Pluralism in frustration. In English, I am blessed to be an expert on Pluralism and have written over 1000 articles on the topic in major national publications.

Pluralism in not a religion, art or science, it is merely an attitude of live and let live. If we can learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

After reading the following, I request you to write your understanding of the subject and how you would define Pluralism in Urdu and Hindi. Extensive work is done and can be found at www.Foundationforplrualism.com and www.pluralismcenter.com 

Finally I found the near correct meaning of the word in Urdu. I am still not satisfied with the word تَکثیریت but the meaning is close. 

 

تَکثیریت ۔ جمع کے صیغہ میں ہونے کی کیفیت ۔

 

تَکثِيريَت ۔ جَمَع کے صِيغَہ ميں ہونے کی کيفِيَت ۔ کِسی مُعاشرے کی وہ نوعِيَت جِس کے اَندَر مُختَلِف لِسانی مُعاشَرتی اور ثَقافَتی مُفادات موجُود ہوں ۔ آپَس ميں مِل کر مَجمُوعی ترَقّی کر رہے ہوں ۔
Hindi is no different, but found many words, but I am inclined towards the word Anekāntavāda athttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekantavada which near perfectly describes pluralism

Anekāntavāda (Devanagari: अनेकान्तवाद) is one of the most important and fundamental doctrines of Jainism. It refers to the principles of pluralism and multiplicity of viewpoints, the notion that truth and reality are perceived differently from diverse points of view, and that no single point of view is the complete truth.[1][2]

I would change the phrase from complete truth to exclusive truth to make full sense of Pluralism, as it is complete truth to the believer of each faith tradition, the problem is with exclusive truth and not complete truth.

Indeed, when I started working on Pluralism in 1993, I understood Anekantavada to be pluralism, and I am deeply influenced by the Jain thought on Pluralism.
I find a deeper connection between the above verse of Quran and the Hindu idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasudhaiva_Kutumbakam 

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
 (Sanskrit:वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम. from “vasudha”, the earth; “iva” = is as a; and “kutumbakam”, family;) is a Sanskrit phrase [1] that means that the whole world is one single family. Everyone have their own worldview which is quite often different from person to person. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam means repsecting this difference.[2]contrary to single worldview or attitude marketed by the West. Vasudhaiva_Kutumbakam also says animals, birds, plants, trees and other organisms in the ecosystem have atmathey are part of our Kutumba.[3]
49:13 (Asad) “O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female,[15] and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another.”

URDU ADAB – HINDI SAMSKRTI

This is perhaps the first step in Urdu and Hindi languages to focus on Pluralism. We hope, it will trigger more poetry and eventually will permeate in to the psyche of the soociety.

Hindi and Urdu poets are requested to submit their poem before June 15, to be published on the site and in the book to be released on June 29, 2013.

We hope the poetry will be sensitive and respectful of every religion, race, ethnicity, gender, color and nationality. It’s a conscious step in advancing our culture of respecting each other’s uniqueness and accepting each other for who we are. The completed poetry must be in by June 15th to make it to the book.

Contact:

Shri D. D. Maini
Irfan Ali (940) 565-1723
Amin Tirmizi (817) 663-3786
Noor Amrohvi (972) 859-0647
Anand Punjabi (214) 499-2663 
AG Chini (972) 978-7034  
Javed Samuel Gill (214) 315-5253
Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916

Url – http://urduhindimushaeraonpluralism.blogspot.com/2013/05/urdu-hindi-mushaera-on-pluralism_21.html

======================== HINDI VERSION =================

अनेकता में एकता (Pluralism) पर हिंदी उर्दू काव्य सम्मलेन  
हिंदी उर्दू भाषी मित्रों को हार्दिक निमंत्रण हैअनेकता में एकता पर हिंदी उर्दू काव्य सम्मलेन 
 में शिरकत करें

शनिवार, जून २९, २०१३ , शाम ८ से ११ बजे 
रिचार्डसन सिविक सेंटर
आप अलग-अलग तरह से इस काव्य सम्मलेन में भाग ले सकतें हैं ;
–        हमारे मेहमान बनकर पधारें,
–        अनेकता में एकता पर कविता / नज़्म लिखें,
–        हमें अपनी कविता खुद आकर महफ़िल में सुनियें,
–        काव्य सम्मलेन के आयोजन सेवा में हमारी मदद करें,
–        इस कार्यक्रम के प्रायोजक बने |
चुनिन्दा कवितायेँ और शेर एक किताब में छापे जायेंगे |
अगर आप समाज को बदलना चाहते हैं, 
तो अपने शब्दों से आकर हमें प्रेरित कीजिये |
हमारी संस्कृति में , हमने हमेशा एक दुसरे की इज्ज़त की है | मगर आज इस तहज़ीबी तिजोरी से इज्ज़त चुरायी जा रही है | एक दुसरे से लोगों का भरोसा उठ रहा है | एक साथ रहने में तकलीफ़ हो रही है | क्या हम ऐसे होता हुए, खड़े-खड़े  देखते रहेंगे ? शायद नहीं ?
सदियों से हमरें शायारों और कवियों की कलामों ने खम्बा बन , हमारी सभ्यता को खड़ा रखा है | यह हमारे हक में है, की हम अगली पीढ़ी के लिए , एक बेहतर दुनिया छोड़ जाएँ | हमें इस शायराना परंपरा को जिंदा रखना है |
हमें जागरूगता से इस संस्कृत समाज को बनाना है , जिसमें किसीको को भी ड़र, नफरत, शक और तकलीफ के हालातों में ना जीना पड़े | इन बातों को सोचकर और लिखकर हम अच्छे भविष्य की नीव डालेंगे | सच , यह एक छोटा कदम है | आशा है यह भारतीय महाद्वीप के देशों के लिए , यह एक बड़ी छलांग साबित हो |
आरजू है , इस कार्यक्रम के लिए जो कवितायेँ लिखी जाएँ , वह लोगों में आदर्श सोच पैदा करे | हम इन्हें अलग-अलग हिंदी-उर्दू के पत्र-पत्रिकाओं और इन्टरनेट पर छपावायेंगे आपकी मदद से हम चाहते हैं , हिंदी-उर्दू के दिग्गज इस काव्य सम्मलेन के लिए कवितायें और नज्में लिखें और डैलस आकर हमें सुनाएँ | 

अनेकता का मतलब है दूसरों की इज्ज़त करना | हर इंसान को उपरवाले ने जो अनोखापन और अनूठा व्यक्तित्व दीया है, उसे अपनाना ही, इस अनेकता को मानना है | इसके लिए चाहिए की एक ऐसा संघटित समाज बनायें, जिसमे अनेकता की नीव हो | जिसमे  हर इंसान बिना दर और घुटन से जी सके | संस्कृत में अनेकता को वासुदेव कुटम्ब और अंग्रेजी में इसे Pluralism कहा गया है | कुछ लोग इसे उर्दू में कसरत-ऐ-वजूद भी कहते हैं |

मैंने पिछले बीस सालों में Pluralism को पढ़ा है , इसपर बोला और लिखा है | मेरे लेख हर दुसरे हफ्ते , हफ्फिन्ग्तन पोस्ट में,  डैलस मॉर्निंग न्यूज़ (१५०),वाशिंगटन पोस्ट (१०) में छापें हैं | सभी धर्मों सुन्दर ज्ञान को मैंने रेडिओ प्रोग्रामों (५२० घंटे) और सम्मेलनों के वर्गों (२८) द्वारा फैलाया है | मैंने तीन किताबें लिखीं हैं , जिन में से एक,  “Standing up for others” ( दूसरों के किये खड़े होना) , का महूरत चार जुलाए को फोर्टवर्थ के मेनसा सम्मलेन में होगा |

आप किसी भी मौज़ू या विषय जैसे धामों-ईमान, संस्कृति और तहज़ीब, खाना, बोली  और ज़िन्दगी को चुन सकते हैं | समझ यही हो , की आप जो भी लिखें उससे एक दुसरे की इज्ज़त बढ़े |
कवितायेँ विचारपूर्ण हों | धर्म, जात, नसल, आदमी-औरत, रंग-रूप और नागरिकता के फर्क से दूर हटकर, लिखी हुई कवितायेँ, एक दुसरे के सम्मान को कायम रखें | एक दुसरे के खुसूसी गुणों की इज्ज़त कर, इस एक जागरूक कदम से हम अपनी सभ्यता की उन्नति करेंगे | पुस्तक  में छपने के लिए, कवितायेँ १५ जून तक  पहुँच जानी चाहिये |
हम हर कवी के हाथ में इस पुस्तक को रखना चाहते हैं |
धन्यवाद
माइक घौस – टेलीफोन : २१४ ३२५ १९१६
आनंद पंजाबी – टेलीफोन : २१४ ४९९ २६६३
America Together foundation
2665 Villa Creek Dr, Suite 206
Dallas, TX 75234

इन्टरनेट www.FoundationforPluralism.com 


======================== URDU VERSION =================


Thank you.
Mike Ghouse 
(214) 325-1916
America Together foundation
2665 Villa Creek Dr, Suite 206
Dallas, TX 75234 
email: MikeGhouse@aol.com  


Ghouse on Bill O'Reilly about Indonesian ban on bikini at Miss World Peagant –

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SO WHAT IF IT IS A MUSLIMS PROTEST AGAINST BIKINI?
WE SHOULD APPRECIATE IT, IT IS A SIGN OF A HEALTHY DEMOCRACY.
 

On The O’Reilly factor between
Greg Gutfeld, sitting in for Bill O’Reilly at Fox News,  and Mike Ghouse,
president of America Together Foundation and the World Muslim Congress about
the Indonesian ban on bikini at Miss World Pageant.

I have stood up for every race, ethnicity, culture and religion, and this time
I am standing up for Muslim sensitivities to ban Bikini at the Miss World Pageant
in Indonesia to be held on September 28, in Jakarta, Indonesia. We have to
stand up for up for every one’s right to be who they are and who they want to
be.

Of course, this is a fodder for
the Islamophobes to cash in on hyping up the situation that radical Muslims are
gaining control in every sphere of life, and that they will take over the
world.  My fellow Americans like Pamela
Geller and Robert Spencer will squeeze every penny out of their nincompoop
supporters. The more they frighten, the more donations will roll in; frightening
Americans is their business.

I am thankful to Fox
News and Greg Gutfeld to take me on the O’Reilly show to share my
perspective.  The show was broad casted
between 8 and 9 PM EST on Friday, June 7, 2013. Most of my talking points made
it in the show but a few critical ones did not and they are here below.

Fox News Video: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/index.html#http://video.foxnews.com/v/2452301837001/bikini-ban-at-miss-world-pageant/?playlist_id=86923

More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157633996656491/show

URL – http://nabsites.net/demo/ghouse-on-bill-oreilly-about-indonesian/

The bikini ban did not happen overnight, it
was a part of the year long negotiated business transaction between the
organizers of Miss World and the Indonesian cultural and tourism authority. 


 One of the great American values is to
respect the sensitivities of other people. What is good for the goose has got
be good for the gander.  Dale Carnegie had perfect words for this
situation, “If you want to gather the honey, don’t kick the beehive”.

If we can learn to respect
the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us,
then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

That is exactly what the Miss World Pageant did; they agreed to respect the
Indonesian culture, predominantly Muslim to address their concerns. When in
Rome, do as Romans do.

“All of the more than 130
contestants will be required to wear Bali’s traditional long sarongs instead of
the sexy bikinis
that are historically part of the competition, “said Adjie S. Soeratmadjie of the RCTI, the
official broadcaster and local organizer.

In fact the chairwoman of the Miss World Organization, Julia Morley said,
“Indonesia is designing for us a very beautiful one-piece beachwear, and
I’m very happy with them,” she told The Associated Press by phone from
London, adding that the pageant will include a special beachwear fashion show.

In America we call it lobbying and bribe the decision makers in one form or the
other and get the job done, the Indonesia garment industry probably was looking
to promote their version of the bikini in to the world market through the
pageant.

As Americans, we are open to most things, but we have our own problems. We have
protested against the sinful ugly war, Muslim protests against Bikini, so what?

Aren’t we sensitive to the needs of our business?

Would a traditional Jewish family eat in a restaurant where the meat is not
kosher? If the restaurant is predominantly in a Jewish community or Muslim
community, it is in their business interest to serve Kosher/ Halal meat, is it
not?

So what if we are sensitive to the needs of Muslims in a predominantly Muslim community?
Why should we push our way on to them? Do they push their ways on to us?

We should be proud of the demonstrators, it is a healthy sign of democracy, if
the Republicans do not protest, and Obama will get away with many things.
Protesting is the democratic thing to do, and we must appreciate it.

Forget the Jews, Muslims and Hindus; would you and I eat dog meat, if that is
served in a restaurant? Did we not protest Horse meat in burgers? Hindus
protested about beef ingredient in the French Fries as well.  What about McRib by McDonalds?  What did Jack
in the box and McDonald’s do? They did not appease any one; they did what was
right for their business, just as the Miss World Pageant did to protect their
business.

Why do we need to piss people off? What is our gain? Dale Carnegie had once
said if you want to gather the honey, you don’t kick the beehive. We need to be
sensitive to the needs of the culture we operate in.

Opposing Bikini is not necessarily a Muslim thing to do; it is indeed a
Cultural thing. Hindus have done, Muslims have done and Christians have done
it.

In 1996 the pageant was marked by violent protests in India – Mind you this was
done by the Predominantly Hindi culture. The event was culture sensitive, the
models danced to traditional Indian music and dance.

There is the business angle – 2 billion people watched it.

When Tebow knelt on the field, how many Christian Americans loved it?

Bangalore was flooded by 10,000 Para military troopers, water hoses, sniffer
dogs to protect the event from the protestors. “Shashikala, leader of Mahila
Jagran Samiti (Forum for Awakening Women) which had promised the immolation
protest, remained at large, police said. But an unemployed man in southern
India died after setting himself ablaze in protest.” 

Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez
had to mend their dance moves for the fear of riots, you cannot call this a
Muslim thing either, the same things have happened everywhere in different parts
of the world with different pretexts. 

As far as Greg Gutfeld
throwing in the London incident of hacking a soldier without giving me the time
to respond was not the right thing, he should not have brought it up to begin
with.  Greg Gutfeld’s fears are misdirected.
If I was the police commissioner of United Kingdom, I would have said this to
the criminal, “Shut up you criminal, you violently hacked another being to
death for no reason, I am going to book you, you can plead insanity, I may have
that evaluated, but if you abuse your religion or Qur’an, I am not going to
spare you – no Muslim organization in UK had authorized you, and neither Quran authorized
you to murder another being – As a civil society, we know only one thing – you are
a plain criminal, pleading religion is inadmissible, you are in for a long haul
and a criminal.”

Let the Muslims protest, it is their right to do and we have to admire their
freedom.

…………………….. BILL O’REILLY PUBLISHED THIS ……………

In an effort to placate religious Muslims, organizers of the Miss World competition have jettisoned the bikini competition for this year’s pageant in majority-Muslim Indonesia. Greg debated the ban with Mike Ghouse of the World Muslim Congress. “I stand with the Muslims and their sensitivities,” Ghouse said. “They have the right to defend what they believe in and we should be proud of them for protesting, which is the sign of a healthy democracy. This is a business decision – if you want to open a restaurant in a Jewish neighborhood, you want to sell kosher food. In this case, they’re doing this show in a predominantly Muslim country.” But Greg contended that the move was made primarily out of fear: “I have a feeling it’s more about capitulation than sensitivity, it’s the intolerance of Muslims who threaten violence.”
………………

Mike Ghouse is a
speaker,
thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to
building a Cohesive
America
and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that
throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local
TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on
Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to
the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning
News
; fortnightly at Huffington
post;
and
several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.

Texas Faith: Where’s the outrage over the atrocities in Syria?

      Comments Off on Texas Faith: Where’s the outrage over the atrocities in Syria?

As
a Pluralist and a Muslim, who has stood up and spoken against every
possible atrocity, prejudice and massacre, and who organizes the annual
Holocaust and Genocides commemoration in Dallas since 2006, I am guilty
of not giving due attention to the atrocities of Assad on the people of
Syria. Shame on me! We have the moral responsibility to restore the safety of every human.  This note is a token of my repentance.

Mike Ghouse
…..

Texas Faith : Where’s the outrage over the atrocities in Syria?

| Dallas Morning News | Published on June 4, 2013

What about Syria? Why aren’t we hearing many protests from religious leaders in
the U.S. about the atrocities that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is bringing
down upon his people? As this Reuters report states, 80,000 of his countrymen
have been killed since they started protesting his government.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/30/us-syria-russia-missiles-idUSBRE94T05S20130530

I raise that question because there is a general sense in the country that
Americans don’t want to get involved with Syria’s meltdown. Polling data is
clear about that.
But shouldn’t people of faith in the U.S. at least be making a cause out of
the deaths that are happening there?
After Rwanda, many Americans said we can’t let a massacre like that happen
again. Well, a leader is brutalizing his people and there aren’t many howls
about it. There may be the occasional statement, but not much more than
that.
Is this because of a fear of American power getting out of hand? Is it
because we are weary of the Mideast? Is it because we don’t know what to do
about the situation? Is it because we don’t want to side with any of the
players? Is it because of something else?
I would like to hear your thoughts about this issue. It’s one thing to not
get involved militarily in Syria. But do religious leaders and institutions in
the U.S. not have some responsibility to speak out against the atrocities, pray
for the victims and raise moral questions?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism

As
a pluralist and a Muslim, and as one who has stood up and spoken
against every possible atrocity, prejudice and massacre, and as one who
organizes the annual Holocaust and Genocides commemoration in Dallas, I
am guilty of not giving due attention to the atrocities of Assad on the
people of Syria. Shame on me!
Thanks
for the opportunity for repentance through this blog entry. There is no
excuse for our nonchalant attitudes given the scale of the massacre.
Mr. McKenzie is right: We, as people of faith, should be making a cause
out of the deaths that are happening in Syria.
A
Syrian friend had shared with me videos of bombings and children being
killed during his visits to Syria. However, there was that glimmer of
hope that Assad would lose and people would determine their own destiny.
But
this conflict is morphing into a battle between the Shia, Sunni and the
Alawites. And that could deepen the chasm between the groups.
So,
what can people of faith do? We have to do what spiritual masters like
Jesus, and Muhammad have done, and that is mitigate conflicts and
nurture goodwill. We might consider a delegation of Shia, Sunni, and
Alawite Muslims, along with Christians and Jews, to invoke humility.
Let’s not discount the power of prayer to communicate to the Syrians
that we care.
What
can the United States do? A lot of things besides the rhetoric. We need
to get the Organization of Islamic Conference, a body of 56
Muslim-majority nations, to negotiate and bring a closure to this
conflict. What is the point of having a body, if they can’t do that?
What
we should not do is arm the rebels and cause more fighting, nor should
we bomb like maniacs. We cannot be a party to death and destruction, as
we have been in the past. Nor should we allow Americans to get burned at
home through this conflict.
The last choice is to drone the guy and take him out with least collateral damage.
We do have the moral responsibility to restore the safety of every human.
Added note:

This
conflict is indeed morphing into a battle between the Shia, Sunni and the
Alawites and could deepen the chasm between the groups. Patrick Buchanan in his
op-ed at the American conservative calls it Islam’s civil war and
throws two powerful ideas of natural boundaries and who dares, wins. If these
two ideas have merit, we may have to consider those options to end the conflict
and stop the massacres.  ………..

To see all the other responses, at Dallas Morning News at: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/06/texas-faith-wheres-the-outrage-over-the-atrocities-in-syria.html/

Mike Ghouse is a
speaker,
thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to
building a Cohesive
America
and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that
throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local
TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on
Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to
the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning
News
; fortnightly at Huffington
post;
and
several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.

 

Hail to Facebook and the Twitter; the instruments of freedom.

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This note is in support of the Turkish people protesting against the freedom of speech, and the men and women who are taking the beating to stand up for their freedom. Hail to the Facebook and Twitter for becoming the medium for the ordinary to communicate freely.

URL – http://nabsites.net/demo/hail-to-facebook-and-twitter/

FB&T has placed the power in the hands of the people to monitor the rule of law and injustice everywhere on the earth. Eventually this power will pounce the dictators and abusers of power even in democracies, it was proven in Tahrir square (Egypt) and now it’s proving it in Taksim square (Turkey).
FB&T is good for the world and is good for America, empowering the power to everyone. It’s a form of people power and its democracy in action. FB&T empowers you and I.
The following three pictures are shameful, a man is on the ground face-up, and the policeman is stamping his boot on his face while another one pointing the bayonet towards the man. The other picture has a woman daring the water hose, reminds me of Selma where the police did the same thing with African Americans, the third picture is a woman daring the police might.

Shame on the police to resort to violence against demonstrators, it happens in democracies too. There are two difficult pictures from India and Chile in the last few months – where the women demonstrators were mercilessly beaten by the police brutes. I hope they have found the men and punished them accordingly.
 Army brutalities are all over the world in the communist as well as the democratic systems. No nation can cast the first stone including our own US of A.  The only grace with democracies is that the guilty will be eventually punished and even fellow men in service will resist joining the bullies and do resist in muffed voices– as they did in Abughraib in Iraq and other places in Afghanistan. Unless the rule of law prevails, and everyone is accountable, the world continues to rot, and affects the psyche of the entire society.
However, the FB&T and the cell phones in the hands of the powerless have given them power to stop the injustices and brutalities. 
There is always that chance; the bad guys can use FBT as their propaganda as well. But their view is so narrow in the larger Facebook, that it does not grow exponentially. I have seen those views emerge here on my wall, but disappeared when three or four good men and women questioned them. Truth ultimately triumphs!
I have seen the extremists in my (Republican) party resort to false propaganda against Obama, they have failed miserably. The idiots need to focus on nation building and not waste public funds on harassing the do gooders. Here is a warning to my Republican friends, unless the moderate majority among us speaks up, we all will fall in 2014 with them, the bad boys among us.
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralismpolitics, peace, Islam,IsraelIndiainterfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building aCohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day atwww.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links. 

Star trek into Darkness, a great movie

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STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS – AN IMAX 3D
EXPERIENCE

http://nabsites.net/demo/star-trek-into-darkness-great-movie/


This movie is made for the dreamers, and
everyone should dream the impossibilities and live in fantasies for a few
minutes a day. That is the only world we own, where no one can say no to us,
mess with, affect it, influence or laugh at us. It is a very private world, and
it is our own. This is also a rare movie where the cast is universal. This is the kind of world we need to create.

By the end of 2020, there will
not be a major city, where you will not find people of different
faiths, cultures, ethnicities, races, nationalities and social
backgrounds working, eating, playing, marrying, and doing things
together.
We
need to prepare ourselves for such eventualities to prevent possible
conflicts, and lay a good foundation for nurturing goodwill and
effective functioning of the societies. Exclusive communities will
become a thing of the past. If you live amidst others, you must also
respect the otherness of others, as you expect them to do the same for
you.
If
we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accept the God
given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts
fade and solutions emerge.

One of the greatest things about the best
of the movies is that they evoke a range of emotions, we get in touch with every
possible emotion within the time frame of the movie, it is good to awaken those
sentiments and keep them alive.

Star Trek is the final frontier of our fantasies
equipped with the future technology. However, the emotions are same that
existed in the movies made in the early 1900’s, mid-century or now. Indeed, the
emotions have not changed since the Stone Age, rooting for the good guys,
seeing the bad guys get beat, and justice prevailing at the end. The
expressions have changed, but not the emotions.

When Captain Kirk decides to descend on the planet Kronos to take out the bad
guys, he dives into it with gut instinct against all the rational advice. Don’t
we all do that in our daily lives? That emotion is branded on to us for
thousands of years.

I was not a Trekkie, but have become one
now, indeed when Mr. Spock utters a dialogue like – I am communicating in your
vernacular to convey the idea,   I am
communicating multiple views to give you the range of expressions….I understood
the eager laughs of the trekkies in the cinema, and I joined them this time
bursting with laughter and admiration for the dialogues.

 Life is also about day dreaming the impossibilities. It is going
into a world that does not exist, imagining bad guys paying for their bad
deeds, winning things against odds, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and
goodness winning at the end. It is a good feeling that we all long to have.
Indeed, it is a part of the life that remains in the domain of fantasy in our
daily lives with a deep desire to see justice at the end.

Yasmeen, the grand Kids and I went to see
the movie. The violence, shooting and the noise distracts her, and Star Trek
was not for her, but the kids liked it. The 2nd time round, I
enjoyed the movie even better – and I hope to go with Mina, Jeff and Fern –
hopefully before she delivers the baby.
…..
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.            

My Memorial Day

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It was good visiting Dadski Everett Blauvelt’s spot at the
Dallas Forth Worth National cemetery in Grand Prairie located at Barium
D71.  This morning widow Lili Blauvelt, daughter and son in law Mary and
Mike Keifer and I made the trip to the National Cemetery at Grand
Prairie.

It was a peaceful place! I needed to visit him, he was
the one who got me here in the United States and I owe him gratitude and
I wanted to say thank you to him every time. The Mike part of my name
was his choice. He was a great fatherly figure to me for 35 years, i.e.,
more than half of my life.  He is no more but I hear his voice and his
smile.  

Indeed, one of
the greatest things about American Culture is the amount of reverence
given to the final resting place, particularly the veterans. The
Veterans cemeteries I have been to are in hills and valleys – it’s a place of
serenity, heaven on the earth for our veterans.

We shared a short prayer together, and I felt a sense completing the life transaction,  and it was a closure for Mary and Lili, I am glad we went, and it was the same with me. Michael (Mary’s husband, he is also Mike, but to differentiate I will refer to him as Michael, that’s how Sean Hannity does to me to differentiate from his son) is a good support to Mary, and a good husband through the period Dadski was in Nursing home and finally through the hospice care.

I believe I am blessed with similar sensitivity as Michael. We both are quite and sensitive to the needs of the loved ones, today he was quite and supportive of Mary, he let Mary be Mary and attended to her when needed. I admire that quality in a man.

 I had my own quite Muslim prayers for Dadski ( Link). After the visit, we went to witness the commemoration for the next two and half hours. It was a good relief after the prayers at Dadski’s spot. I guess the Veterans have a way to make life easy for the loved ones.

I ran into Larry Duncan, President of the Dallas County. He and I have been together in many places, he has attended several of the events I organize.  It was a joy to see the dedication of the Boy Scouts – they were everywhere on the grounds passing water bottles. It was really a good thing to see those kids. I know it when my kids were in boy and girl scouts. It was good to see a Sikh child as a part of the boy scouts as well.

My next stop was the Muslim Cemetery in Denton to pray for my late wife Najma and her father. Most Muslims visit cemeteries at least twice a year on two festivals, and pray for every one, the living and the dead. There is nothing special about the cemetery, but just a peaceful thoughtful place I choose to visit, it could be any place and from anywhere.

I prayed for my father and mother, my grandparents, uncles and aunts, my sister in law Tahseen, my nephew Ahmed and my friend Sharif’s parents and Bhabi Sudesh Sharma, (wife of my brotherly friend – Kundan Sharma), DJ Sharma, Siraj Ahmed, and my first real friend Jameel Ahmed. Prayer is indeed good for the soul, and good way to connect with yourselves through your loved ones.

It is an all inclusive universal Muslim prayer that runs something like this, “Dear God, forgive me and my parents and my teachers and all the believing men and women, the living and the dead with your mercy. Amen.”

 Dear God, I thank you for the life and the freedom you have given me and my fellow humans and I thank for all those who have sacrificed their lives for me to have this freedom to stand freely and pray here today, I salute our men and women in the uniforms for protecting and defending our freedom. Amen.

More Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157633743868273/Show

Memorial Day – http://nabsites.net/demo/memorial-day-reflections-by-pluralis/

This URL – http://nabsites.net/demo/my-memorial-day/

Mike Ghouse

Israel ranks low in global popularity

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This is indeed a wake call for the people of Israel and the Jewry around the world. The people of Israel need to recognize that the real enemies of Israel are men like Netanyahu and his cronies who have frightened the day lights out of the Jews to buy their their reluctant support, just in case the fears are real.

A poll released Tuesday by the BBC confirms Israel remains one of the world’s least popular countries, with more than half of those surveyed identifying its influence as “mainly negative.” Only North Korea, Pakistan and Iran fared worse. Fifty-two percent of respondents view Israel in a negative light; 21% rated it in positive terms, placing it far behind China’s 42% and Russia’s 30%.

I am a supporter of Israel’s right to exist and have written nearly 50 articles to that effect, talked about it and speak endlessly. The Jewish people have suffered the most in the community of nations, and I was hoping the creation of Israel would have taken them out of the 3000 year old insecurity, apprehensions and discomfort and bring them genuine liberation, where they can drop all their guards and enjoy the sense of freedom and security.

Guess who is holding them hostage, it is the right wing politics of Israel and the right wing Christians and Jews of  America, and they simply cannot see people living in peace and cook up enemies and keep the Israelis under control.  The moderate majority of Israelis and Jews in America are accustomed to the bullying from the few, they need to have the guts to speak up and take back their nations and drive it into security.

The American right wingers are the 2nd most enemies of Israel, their mouths tell one thing, and their actions do the opposite. These men want Israel to remain in eternal wars so they can make their good. You can see how Israeli government has been a bad boy in the community of nations, and it appears that US is the only ally of Israel when you look up the UN votes on issues. Except the ones we throw money at like UK, Spain, Italy and a few others beggars, most of the free world is not with us, we are wrong in not getting Israel and Palestine to the table and God only can help our arrogance which refuses to see our ills.

The actions of Israeli government, just about every action is isolating Israel, the people are sick of Israel getting away with murders. And as long as Israel is seen as the bully who does not care about the world opinion, it accelerates Antisemitism.  Israeli public needs to wake up and remove the military dependency on the United States and be a proud free people who can chart their own destiny. The right wingers in the US will not let Israel have peace and security.

As a Moderate Muslim I understand the plight of moderate Jews – we are the majorities, and we are used to taking abuse from the “few” bullies, they frighten the crap out of us. The least we can do is to speak up and see things will change for the good of all people. I like to see security for Israelis and Justice for the Palestinians, neither will get what they want, if they don’t respect the other’s needs and take over the power from the right wing extremists of Israel and America, who don’t give a flip about Israel. 

Its time for Israelis to wake up, it’s time for the right wing Jews to wake up and sincerely seek peace, through peace and not the military might, it is strong and no one can touch it. Peace is always made by the powerful and by the majority, the burden for peace falls squarely on Israel. 

url – http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2013/05/israel-low-in-global-popularity-ranking.html

Author’s note: Who am I to worry about Israelis and Palestinians? What inspires me to be involved in the Israel Palestine conflict? The following is the story of my struggle to see a cohesive world, the story will take you through different emotions but at the end, I hope you feel a sense of completeness of the story. Due to its length, it is in three parts – its in the ABOUT us at My blog www.IsraelPalestineDialogue.com

…………………………

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam,Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building aCohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day atwww.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.

Memorial Day Reflections by Pluralist Mike Ghouse

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Please do not wish a “Happy Memorial Day” on this day; it is not a celebration to be happy about, it is rather an observance to commemorate and ponder. We observe the Memorial Day on the last Monday of May every year; remembering and honoring the men and women who died while protecting and serving our country.

Why does it matter to you? The freedoms that you and I cherish or take it for granted, did not come to us on a platter and was not a given thing either, it was earned for us through the sacrifice of men and women who fought for it. It is particularly important day for all the immigrants who enjoy full civil rights and equal opportunity in America.

I am pleased to share my thoughts, hoping you would find it to be a meaningful day for you. What will I do and what can you do is as follows.

The tradition of Memorial Day observance began after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and confederate soldiers who died in the civil war. Indeed, it was the civil war that abolished slavery ( it is time to watch the movie Lincoln)  which was the stepping stone for passing the Civil rights Act of 1964 and the very cause for the immigrants to make it to America.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 states (wiki) that is “a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and women. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public (known as “public accommodations”).”

By the way I am related to General Robert E. Lee through my son and daughter’s family on their mother’s side.

Had it not for the Civil Rights Act (thanksgiving link honoring MLK), we the immigrants, from some 200 nations would not have come to the United States; we would not have been allowed either. Up until 1910, no one but a white person could own the property here in Dallas. Heck getting a decent job was out of question; my Jewish friends tell stories of not getting a decent job up until 1960. The immigrants were not allowed to marry either; the first such case happened in the last century when an Indian man married a white woman and their troubles began, and thank God, they endured the struggles, and seeded reforms in the immigration law.

Every one of us is designed to pursue happiness. Of the many things that bring serene happiness to the soul is the expression of gratitude. It is thanking the creator for the life we have, (Appaiah story) and thanking those who have laid the foundation for our happiness and freedom that we take it for granted. Thanks to our soldiers who fought in the civil war to preserve that freedom for us, and the least we can do is honor them. If you see the men and women in the uniform, tell them that you appreciate them. They deserve to hear the appreciation.

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and reflection, it is time to pray for those have passed away, whether they are related to us or not and whether they have served in the military, police and fire or not. Please take a few moments to remember all those who have influenced, affected and cared for us, and those who cared for others whether we know them or not. It is not necessarily a noble thing or a religious thing, it is the rigth thing to do.  Indeed, it is the thing that enriches our souls and brings humility and connects us back with ourselves.

 On the Memorial Day in 2010, I drove from Louisville to Dallas, an 840 miles journey and stopped at every cemetery that was visible on the road side. I said a short prayer asking the creator to restore the balance on the earth though forgiveness to those who have sinned and bring completeness to those who left incomplete transactions in life.  I particularly remember stopping at 4 national cemeteries, and there was one near Nashville on I-40 for the veterans, which was off the road, and I drove through a creek to get there and paid my homage to the men and women who died for my country’s freedom. It just feels good to be a part of the whole.

There is a beautiful Islamic supplication that asks God to forgive the ones who are alive and the ones who are gone, parents, family, friends, believers and strangers.

This year, my Dadski (father figure link) passed away. I am grateful to him for being the catalyst for me to be here in America, he has been a good friend and a father figure to me. I will be visiting the National Cemetery in Grand Prairie and place a US Flag for him.

Every cemetery I spot on the memorial day, either I will pull over on the road side or walk to the gate of the cemetery, or silently pray for them. Praying for the unknown connects you with the unselfish-self in you, giving a sense of joy that is hard to explain. Try it and see how good you feel about yourselves – visit a cemetery, eventually we all have to go there.

I will be visiting the Islamic Cemetery in Denton to pray for my late wife and through the cemetery pray for my parents, my grandparents, uncles and aunts, and my sister in law, and the known and unknown.

The Muslim prayers run something like this, “Dear God, forgive me and my parents and my teachers and all the believing men and women, the living and the dead with your mercy. Amen.”

 Dear God, I thank you for the life and the freedom you have given me and my fellow humans and I thank for all those who have sacrificed their lives for me to have this freedom to stand freely and pray here today, I salute our men and women in the uniforms for protecting and defending our freedom. Amen.

(This is my draft, disturbed by a phone call – I will fix this later today and add more soul searching items to it).

URL –  http://nabsites.net/demo/memorial-day-reflections-by-pluralis/

….

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links. 

Congratulations to the Dallas Fashions for Charity Team

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CONGRATULATIONS!!!

What a team, a great team!

The team led by Henny Hughes with John Krieger, Kennedy Gbenedio, Teresa Marvon, Jesse Velaquesz, Jessie Anton, Nick Lupo, John Marvon, Sonia Perez, Linda Lemmond, and Omar Marin.

It was such a joy to see the event come through successfully. Indeed everything went as planned with near perfect execution. Our volunteerism is helping the needy children and we all can take pride of our event, as it helps us achieve our goals.

Everyone has done a fabulous job. Drew and LeeAnne were graceful and were great team players. LeeAnne and Drew asked me to sit by them and keep them up with the flow and sequence.  They were truly gracious!

I have to quote the following from Goethe, to describe every one of you,  and your commitment to this event. You were awesome!

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy… Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.… Whatever you can do or dream that you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

Here is another quote from Dr. Abdul Hamid Abusulayman, “There is a clear distinction between doubts and problems. Doubts provoke obstruction, frustration and discouragement, where as problems inspire motivation, action and diligence.”

That’s what I saw in our team, inspiration, motivation, action and diligence. 

Henny, I was floored with your designs; you are just one hell of a great designer! I just could believe the uniqueness of each dress, and each dress was greater than the other.  I hope it was a dream come true event for you last night. — The dream to help the disadvantaged children to uplift themselves on  to a level playing field.

Linda, I love your passion and perfectionism, you are a rare gem of a person. Goethe was right about your commitment to work.  You are one of the most organized cool headed persons I have seen.  The problems we encountered inspired you to move on and get the job done, and you always had alternatives.

 I woke up early at 4:00 AM as I have to prepare the script for a radio show in New York over the phone… and wrote this note, half sleep, and I meant to appreciate every one fully even though my words may not justify it.


Kennedy, you managed the registration desk very well. It was a smooth well run operation.

John and Teresa, you guys were so focused on work – to the last minute you were working non-stop, I have a picture of you John with a shirt showing your work – you were graceful to manage the last minute changes – like the food from al-Amir.

Jesse, your passion for photography is incredible, I was watching you run all over and get the best shots of the people, and you were goading everyone to be in the pictures… you did not skip any one, and I liked that. You even went and took pictures of Bobby Young Band. You dived into you work. You were magical with your time,  and hell a great dancer too!

Jessie, you took care of a lot of behind the scene work, the power point, the programming flow and of course the modeling. Sonya you are a quite worker and got the job done.  You two are awesome and your work is appreciated in making this event successful.

Omar, you were there, whereever you were needed; you are a volunteer par-excellence. Nick I missed seeing your work, but appreciate the team spirit.

John, it was great working with you on the stage, and off the stage. You took care of logistics, particularly with the band. The Bobby young band was simply great, and stepped in to make the necessary announcements and helped in managing the schedule. Your mere presence was motivational.

As an appreciation, I would like to invite the team to lunch in an Indian restaurant, if we have difficulty with the time; we can meet next Wednesday evening at 7:00, just as a capstone meeting, sort of the goodbye meeting for the year, in a restaurant in Carrollton – there is a little private room in the back that we all can sit by ourselves. The food is hot and spicy, but good authentic food. They don’t serve alcohol if that is okay with ya’ll.

How to get along with everyone is the need of the day, and with our continued volunteerism,  we will be able to teach the disadvantaged children how to cope with people of different races, cultures and ethnicities, so we can be a small part in raising a generation of responsible citizens.


Mike Ghouse.

Texas Faith : Should Americans boycott sweatshops in places like Bangladesh?

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We can demand graduated improvements in working conditions, but must be willing to pay a few pennies more for the same goods and services, if not we would be contributing to those conditions to maximize the returns on our Dollar. 

Texas Faith : Should Americans boycott sweatshops in places like Bangladesh?

  

| Dallas Morning News | Published on May 23, 2013 

That’s the question many people are facing after a horrific fire in a Bangladesh sweatshop recently killed more than 1,100 workers. But it isn’t always an easy one to answer.
As New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof explains in this link, workers in some underdeveloped nations see a sweatshop as preferable to conditions they otherwise might work in. Here’s how Kristof put it in a 2009 column:
“I’m glad that many Americans are repulsed by the idea of importing products made by barely paid, barely legal workers in dangerous factories. Yet sweatshops are only a symptom of poverty, not a cause, and banning them closes off one route out of poverty. At a time of tremendous economic distress and protectionist pressures, there’s a special danger that tighter labor standards will be used as an excuse to curb trade.”
In essence, sweatshop employees may be making a rational decision to work in places most Americans would not set foot in. The demand for their goods leads to jobs that pay better than in other parts of a developing nation’s economy. And in better conditions, as hard as that might be to imagine
On the other hand, our demand for their goods is why sweatshops exist. And while those facilities may be better than others in a country, they also can be exploitative and even deadly.
I am also including a link to an interview that ran in The Dallas Morning News Points section. The Q&A is with Texas Tech professor Benjamin Powell, author of the forthcoming Sweatshops: Improving Lives and Economic Growth. He explains why he thinks Americans should not boycott sweatshops.
What do you think?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism

There is always a balance we need to seek, between the disgusting working conditions of the sweatshops, and the jobs they provide to those who need to sustain the basics of their families.
As an individual born and raised in India, I have seen utter poverty. It was humiliating to see people beg for food, just food, not the steak, and receive the left-overs to sustain themselves and their children. For nearly forty years, I gave up eating cake, as it reminded me of a kid who stretched his hand for it when I was eating. The looks on his face made me sad, very sad – he probably never had a piece of cake. I gave him what I had in my hand and did not eat another piece for a long time. However, it was a joy to see him share that piece with his brothers scrambling for food in the pile of trash at the corner of the street.
When I went to see the Taj Mahal, I saw what Nick Kristof saw. It was deeply troubling to see the conditions of the sweatshops there, particularly the child labor and the inhuman conditions they worked under to make a buck, the buck that puts food on their plate for the whole day.
My late wife and I decided to visit a famous restaurant to eat one of the Indian delicacies that we wanted to eat all our lives.. But what we saw on the way in turned us off and we chose to go back without eating. We endlessly debated about supporting a place where they did not treat their employees well, particularly the children, and denying them a buck and their livelihood.
We were glad to be Americans to have been blessed with the opportunities, and also glad to have the mindset to feel guilty for the living conditions of those who provide our goods and services.
As Americans, we can positively encourage competition by giving business to those sweat shops who treat their employees better, and who do not employ child labor and or offer education opportunities for the same children.
We can demand graduated improvements in working conditions, but must be willing to pay a few pennies more for the same goods and services, if not we would be contributing to those conditions to maximize the returns on our Dollar.

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To see all the other responses, at Dallas Morning News at:http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/texas-faith-should-americans-boycott-sweatshops-in-places-like-bangladesh.html/

….Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel,India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.