Yes, America is in grave danger! From its own policy makers.
I had to take a day to step back from Monday night’s debate and to rethink, what just happened?
{mosads}I couldn’t figure out what to take away from it. I was hoping to hear some intellectual debate, about reforms, and how America can really be made better (not ‘greater again’).
What I heard instead was an argument with no fruition. I cannot, in my good conscience, agree with either candidates, one that plans to throw me and my friends and family out of the country citing racial slurs and privilege; or the other that would bomb the very countries housing Muslim culture and heritage and innocent people in the name of national security.
In the past seven years or so that I have lived in America, I have never feared for myself until the preliminaries started last year.
According to FBI reports, anti-Muslim hate crime rose in 2015 with 180 reported incidents between March 2015 and March 2016, most incidents occurring in December when Donald Trump announced his rhetoric to make America great by throwing Muslim Americans out of the country.
So, amongst the 3.3 million Muslims living in the US, I became subject to Islamophobia. Never have I ever seen such a spike in islamophobia, xenophobia, bigotry, hatred and aggression. I didn’t even know the America and its countrymen I have come to love would be capable of such negativity.
The height of paranoia and alienation is remarkable. In the past year, I have had to answer questions about how I am a different and better Muslim than those terrorists that are namely Muslim, and I have had to talk about and learn self-defense to protect myself from unforeseeable incidents.
I then question myself while deciding who to support in this election, do either of them care about what happens to me? Or my rights and liberties, that too as a Muslim immigrant? Regrettably, this question is not just in my mind, but in the minds of every other American.
On Monday, neither of them got to talk about my fears but they did get to talk about some other major issues with the economy, illegal immigrants and police brutality.
Donald Trump reiterated stop-and-frisk multiple times, boasted about being endorsed by ICE and putting a stop to illegal immigration (still waiting to hear a strategic plan for it), capping tax deductions for the wealthy, and defended himself on making demeaning remarks about women time and again.
He also made something very clear: America becomes greater when the wealthy (such as himself) get to keep their money. When there is no immigrant left in America (more specifically any colored immigrant except for Caucasians), and having the ability to racially profile and degrade others that are unlike him.
I don’t even have to mention foreign policy; it begins and ends with bombing whatever looks like ISIS from the face (primarily every Muslim country) and China is bad.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton did a great job keeping her equanimity despite being constantly attacked and interrupted. I admire her ability to compose herself and unwaveringly state some facts to make it sound like an intelligible debate.
She comes with great expertise in job growth taking advice from Bill Clinton, plans for building trust between police and racial minorities and gun control, raising minimum wage, lowering taxes for working class while increasing taxes for the upper class, equal pay for women, affordable child care, longer paid maternity leave, and debt-free college. I like her plans a lot! It sounds like a system that would work for Americans to some extent.
However, when I moved beyond the smoke screen, I realized none of this would matter when I know the candidate I supported would start a war that will kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people and bury it just like the emails.
My fear of persecution however real it may be in this moment, is the reality of thousands of refugees which will not have a place in the America created by either candidate. It is also the reality for thousands of illegal immigrants trying to make an honest living and fighting hard to become legal residents.
America is home of immigrants, anyone denying the fact can ask their parents where their grandparents came from. Many would tell you they fled war, they came as refugees to America, they made a living here, they are law abiding citizens, they are a part of this economy, facing all the problems these candidates talked about Monday night.
Now history is repeating itself. There is an influx of misplaced refugees, all are law abiding citizens, and want to go back to their normal life, make a living, be a part of an economy. If the presidential candidates keep at it like they are now, that is, unempathetic, thirsty for power with complete disregard for real people and real consequences; this system will fail not only Americans, but immigrants and refugees that look up to America as a beacon of hope and prosperity.
Until next time, please excuse me while I prepare myself for extreme vetting.
Asra Rizvi is Schizophrenia Research Coordinator at Northwell Health- Zucker Hillside Hospital. She is currently doing her masters in clinical psychology at Teachers College- Columbia University. She is also the NYC chapter team leader of a global non-profit organization.
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.