By: Manjeet Singh Riverside, CA
Sometimes I sit down and think to myself if all of this is really worth it? I mean, I work all the time, striving to succeed academically and socially in this country—and to what end? Just so 1 can walk down the street and be called “Khomeini” or “Sadam Hussein?”
What’s the point in trying to please this American or Canadian or British Society, when all you get in return is an insult, (and that if you’re lucky?) What’s the justification of enduring 12 years of school and 4-8 years of college, when we can’t even get a job when We get out because we look too “barbaric” or “pagan?!” Sooner or later we’re going to have to realize that this is a bankrupt society, with bankrupt values and morals.
This is a message to all those young Sikhs in this country, or for that matter any other western nation, who have endured through this. Being a young Sikh in this day and age is certainly not easy. So what do we do? How.do we stop the kids at the playgrounds from playing with our “Jooras?” How do we stop the highschoolers from taunting us and fighting with us? How do we fit in with the crowds at the colleges, when they won’t accept us? Simple: through education.
My father once said, “Never let Society changes you, you should be the one to change society.” It is not that these people are stupid or evil. No, they are simply ignorant. These Westerners have been brought up with ideals and values that are Strange to us. | mean, our parents never let their hair down, smoked pot and preached free love; but theirs did. Our parents have always tried to spend their time with their families and their community, at the gurdwaras, trying to pray whenever they could. Because of that there has arrived an information gap, and the only way to fix it, is to provide that information.
So what does all this mean? Give the Americans, the Canadians, and the British the information that is essential for us to live in peace. Take your little brothers and sisters to school and explain in front of all the kids why they don’t cut their hair and wear it in a “bun,” Take the time and tell the kids at high school and college why you look the way you do. And be proud of it. Because if you are, then they will give you the respect you deserve, but don’t force it upon them don’t demand that they allow you in their group. Instead, let them understand you, let them see where you are coming from. I know this sounds “corny,” and it may even sound cliché, but it ‘works.
And realize something. By doing this, you are not only helping yourself, but you are helping your community. You are educating society about your culture, your values, and your religion. You are spreading the word of your Guru, in a way that no one else can. You’re educating the common man. And that’s it that’s all there is. Keep the faith. May Waheguru Ji shower his grace upon each and every one of you?.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 23, 1993
