So Donald Trump, after tending to his comb over, emerged from his helicopter in New Hampshire yesterday to pronounce that he was "proud" and "honored" to "have been able to get" the president to release his birth certificate. No surprises there. Trump is ever so proud of himself: he is rich, arrogant, has a hot wife half his age, "You're fired!" is his catchphrase. As for the honored part, he's already made sure of that. His name adorns - or defaces - hotels, golf courses and condos across the nation. The one place we can be sure it will never be is where he aspires to show it off - on the door of the Oval Office: 64% Americans in a Gallup poll say they just wouldn't vote for The Donald, period. Despite his dollars, this makes sense: why would Americans entrust the future of the economy to a person whose branded properties have had a history of corporate bankruptcy?
Last month, Trump declared, "I have a great relationship with the blacks. I've always had a great relationship with the blacks." But his new baseless accusation that Obama should not have been admitted to the Ivy Leagues sounded nothing but racist. You weren't president of the Harvard Law Review, were you now, Trump? In fact, what needs to be questioned is that who admitted this dumb ass to Wharton? Daddy's connections came in handy, I suppose. He continues to bash China and Chinese products (calling them "crap") when some of the garments in the Donald J. Trump Signature Collection are, according to their labels, "Made in China." Full of ironies, this man.
Even though the birth certificate being released does not mean an end to the whole birther conspiracy, it for sure has allowed the media to entertain us in the form of the Trump freak show. The royal wedding hoopla was starting to get a little boring now. Prince William needs a comb over, too.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Brewing up controversy, literally.
I am a fan of Greg Mortenson's and that is why my inbox and my Facebook wall were flooded with emails and posts last week about the fall of my hero. Three words: I don't care.
The journalists I know won't be happy when I say that you don't believe everything that these journalists say. You use your head. Similarly, you don't believe everything you read. When you read any non-fiction book, say a biography, you know not all of it is going to be true. It has been written so that it makes for a nice story, makes you cry, or laugh. So that it inspires you. You use your head. On the same note, you treat people like people. The minute you want to worship a man like a god is the minute you are going to be disappointed. We are not infallible, that is exactly why we are humans.
The 60 Minutes piece about Greg Mortenson is a powerful example of how cleaver editing and storytelling with a bias can damage the reputation and the work of a good man. And although it may have theatrical and visual impact, it does little where truth is concerned.
Anyone who reads and researches knows that Greg Mortenson has denied all of these accusations. He and his board have answered all of the questions with reasonable and plausible answers. At least $20 million is in a trust fund to carry on his work. The CAI board asked its lawyer to review its financial practices before 60 Minutes began work on their story. The review found nothing to be illegal or unethical. In fact, it discovered benefits to the Central Asia Institute that far exceeded the benefits to Greg Mortenson. His fundraising supports school construction and educational campaigns. Concerning his speaking engagements, he is doing what any writer would do: he is making good use of the limited window any author has to engage audiences, sell his book, create awareness of his mission and raise funds for the work he is doing.
This unfortunate story masquerading as objective journalism will make Greg Mortenson’s work much more difficult, but I believe he will prevail. He will continue to build schools, and those of us who believe in his important work will continue to support him.
On a lighter note, here is a song that is stuck in my head these days. Coincidentally, it is about the place Mortenson fell in love with. I mean, who wouldn't? "He who comes here once, leaves his heart behind."
The journalists I know won't be happy when I say that you don't believe everything that these journalists say. You use your head. Similarly, you don't believe everything you read. When you read any non-fiction book, say a biography, you know not all of it is going to be true. It has been written so that it makes for a nice story, makes you cry, or laugh. So that it inspires you. You use your head. On the same note, you treat people like people. The minute you want to worship a man like a god is the minute you are going to be disappointed. We are not infallible, that is exactly why we are humans.
The 60 Minutes piece about Greg Mortenson is a powerful example of how cleaver editing and storytelling with a bias can damage the reputation and the work of a good man. And although it may have theatrical and visual impact, it does little where truth is concerned.
Anyone who reads and researches knows that Greg Mortenson has denied all of these accusations. He and his board have answered all of the questions with reasonable and plausible answers. At least $20 million is in a trust fund to carry on his work. The CAI board asked its lawyer to review its financial practices before 60 Minutes began work on their story. The review found nothing to be illegal or unethical. In fact, it discovered benefits to the Central Asia Institute that far exceeded the benefits to Greg Mortenson. His fundraising supports school construction and educational campaigns. Concerning his speaking engagements, he is doing what any writer would do: he is making good use of the limited window any author has to engage audiences, sell his book, create awareness of his mission and raise funds for the work he is doing.
This unfortunate story masquerading as objective journalism will make Greg Mortenson’s work much more difficult, but I believe he will prevail. He will continue to build schools, and those of us who believe in his important work will continue to support him.
On a lighter note, here is a song that is stuck in my head these days. Coincidentally, it is about the place Mortenson fell in love with. I mean, who wouldn't? "He who comes here once, leaves his heart behind."
Friday, April 1, 2011
One School at a Time
I was having the longest and the crappiest day of my life when one man brought a smile to my face. This man was Greg Mortenson.
I had the honor of meeting this man whose fan I had become after reading his book, Three Cups of Tea. He received the Sitara-e-Pakistan ("Star of Pakistan"), Pakistan's highest civil award in 2009. He looks older now. He has started to lose some hair. There's somewhat of a tummy. He greeted me with an assalam alaikum and said khuda hafiz when I was leaving. He told me the book was ready to be published in Urdu and Pushto very soon. He said higher education was becoming more important in Pakistan. He asked me what I was studying (after he asked me if I was a teacher and I had to tell him I was actually a student!). He's soft spoken, funny, listens to you with utmost humility, and is passionate about what he does - everything I had imagined of him when I read the book.
Time and again I have bashed American and Pakistani governments for being insensitive and selfish. And here comes a man who shows me that there are still good people left in the world who would go out of their way to do something for others, in the most selfless manner. He is the American who is working day and night for a better tomorrow of children half the world across from home for him. He goes to places where few foreigners dare to go - places often considered to be the front lines of the War on Terror. And he works with the most basic ideas: let your children go out and play, sit with your elders and listen to their stories, educate the women (because "when you educate a boy, you educate an individual but when you educate a girl, you educate the community"), instead of bombing people, get to know them, understand them, build their trust. He says that hatred in the world comes from ignorance, that education needs to be America's top national and international priority - especially education for girls. "Ignorance is the enemy," he says.
Not only does Mortenson speak from the heart, he makes me look at my country in a way I had never seen it before. Parts of Pakistan I've never visited are heaven on earth, he says. I am in awe of the poor and illiterate men of Pakistan's most impoverished areas that are the champions of girls' education in their villages. When the men from Mullah Omar's village come to him, asking him to build a girls' school in their village, Mortenson finds them playing on the swings of a playground. I finally think of these bearded men in turbans as humans, people who never saw a childhood in a country ridden in war. Mortenson learns that everything is discussed over chai in Pakistan, that relationships are build over a steaming hot cup of this special tea, that family is crucial in my culture. In the words of Korphe's nurmadhar Haji Ali (who was also Mortenson's mentor),
Thus, Mortenson's lecture was enlightening, invigorating to say the least. The reality he presents is gruesome but he shares hope, nonetheless, that something can be done and is being done. Pakistanis and Americans have a lot to learn from him. He is a reminder of the power of one man's determination in the face of gigantic obstacles. This is one man's mission to promote peace - one school at a time. This man clearly deserves to be called a hero.
I had the honor of meeting this man whose fan I had become after reading his book, Three Cups of Tea. He received the Sitara-e-Pakistan ("Star of Pakistan"), Pakistan's highest civil award in 2009. He looks older now. He has started to lose some hair. There's somewhat of a tummy. He greeted me with an assalam alaikum and said khuda hafiz when I was leaving. He told me the book was ready to be published in Urdu and Pushto very soon. He said higher education was becoming more important in Pakistan. He asked me what I was studying (after he asked me if I was a teacher and I had to tell him I was actually a student!). He's soft spoken, funny, listens to you with utmost humility, and is passionate about what he does - everything I had imagined of him when I read the book.
Time and again I have bashed American and Pakistani governments for being insensitive and selfish. And here comes a man who shows me that there are still good people left in the world who would go out of their way to do something for others, in the most selfless manner. He is the American who is working day and night for a better tomorrow of children half the world across from home for him. He goes to places where few foreigners dare to go - places often considered to be the front lines of the War on Terror. And he works with the most basic ideas: let your children go out and play, sit with your elders and listen to their stories, educate the women (because "when you educate a boy, you educate an individual but when you educate a girl, you educate the community"), instead of bombing people, get to know them, understand them, build their trust. He says that hatred in the world comes from ignorance, that education needs to be America's top national and international priority - especially education for girls. "Ignorance is the enemy," he says.
Not only does Mortenson speak from the heart, he makes me look at my country in a way I had never seen it before. Parts of Pakistan I've never visited are heaven on earth, he says. I am in awe of the poor and illiterate men of Pakistan's most impoverished areas that are the champions of girls' education in their villages. When the men from Mullah Omar's village come to him, asking him to build a girls' school in their village, Mortenson finds them playing on the swings of a playground. I finally think of these bearded men in turbans as humans, people who never saw a childhood in a country ridden in war. Mortenson learns that everything is discussed over chai in Pakistan, that relationships are build over a steaming hot cup of this special tea, that family is crucial in my culture. In the words of Korphe's nurmadhar Haji Ali (who was also Mortenson's mentor),
"The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die."
Thus, Mortenson's lecture was enlightening, invigorating to say the least. The reality he presents is gruesome but he shares hope, nonetheless, that something can be done and is being done. Pakistanis and Americans have a lot to learn from him. He is a reminder of the power of one man's determination in the face of gigantic obstacles. This is one man's mission to promote peace - one school at a time. This man clearly deserves to be called a hero.
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| Mortenson lectures at the Lied Center on KU Campus. Photo by Artem Bagiev. |
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| He signed my copy of Three Cups of Tea! |
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