Welcome Back America!

I know everyone and their dog have already commented on the historic event that just took place in the US. I gotta speak my mind as well and add to the chorus.

Let me just say that Obama did not win the race simply because he was black. He won because he was the most suitable candidate for the job. He won because of his inspirational leadership skills, because of the policies he proposed and the platform under which he was running.

Coming from a predominantly Black country I grew up seeing a Black person holding the highest position in my country's government. However, even for me and for many persons of Black descent not living in the United States, words cannot express how it felt to watch Obama win the US elections and to listen to his victory speech. And for this, I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with an article I recently read which said that America has once again returned to its place as the land of opportunity in the eyes of many world citizens. When you think about the fact that just 40 years ago the law in the US supported the practice of treating Blacks as second-class citizens.

Less than 40 years ago, Blacks in the US were being killed simply because they dared to stand up to the inequality that existed at the time. And yet....and yet...just 40 years after...millions of Americans, (Black, white and all the shades in between), voted for a man of Black descent to be their president. Americans voted for a man who, half-white or not, had he been living in America 40 years ago, based on his looks, would have never come close to getting the opportunity to even consider running for president. That fact speaks volumes to me. It proves to many of us around the world that regardless of all the bad that exists there, that the United States is still really the main land of opportunity, where dreams can come true. For all other Western countries' talk of having more racial tolerance and equality, I have yet to see them elect a minority to their highest office in government. And those other countries abolished slavery long before the US did (European countries) or, hell, many of them did not even have slavery (I see you Canada).

Also, while I was just now referring to visible minorities holding positions of government, I was also using it to mean all minorities. I mean, with the exception of South Africa, I have not heard of another big (physically or influentially) country that has elected to their highest position in office, a person who is a member of a minority group that has faced at least centuries of hardship from the majority in that country. *I welcome corrections on that and am genuinely interested to learn as I know that there are other countries who do not really toot their horn much.

Little Mosque vs. Aliens

Before Aliens in America (final pic in this post) there was Little Mosque On The Prairie (cast pic on bottom left). In fact, I just finished watching the last few episodes of Season Two of this Canadian sitcom. While it still has the feel of a Canadian comedy, it has definitely improved from Season One and I find myself looking forward to Season Three in the fall. The show is about Muslims living in a rural community in Canada. It follows a young imam from Toronto who trades life as a lawyer to go the religious route in a small town. It deals with how the Muslims and the rest of the community interact. When the show started I watched the first few episodes because I really liked the concept of the show. I'm all for sending a message, etc. I also believe that, as a practising Christian, I would identify with some of the issues young Muslims face as I am also bound by rules and commandments. Plus, the creator of the show went to my uni.

I found the show to be ok, not very funny but no worse than some other sitcoms on TV. As I mentioned before, it had a distint Canadian feel to me, much like Corner Gas, except with Little Mosque... I actually got the jokes. I am glad that the show at least tries to show all the different types of Muslims, like the immigrants, the very traditional, the moderate, the converted, Canadian, etc. Anyways, the show didn't garner my attention enough for it to be must-see TV so I missed quite a few episodes. However, this past Christmas it was heavily advertised as having two episodes on one night for the holiday season and I started watching it again. I just caught up completely and I am impressed. It's still not the funniest thing out there but it's gotten much better. I was glad to find out that as of this season the show was being broadcast in over 80 countries including some in French-speaking Africa, the Middle East (such as Gaza) and several European countries (Finland, Belgium, Netherlands, et al).

I still hear people say insensitive things about Muslims, even in Toronto with all its diversity. Heck, I'm sure I have some misconceptions about Islam too and I sure don't know a lot about the religion. Little Mosque... clears up some misconceptions and also serves to inform. Dare I say that I've learnt some things about Islam from watching this show. I mean, I honestly didn't know that, in Islam, it is forbidden for women to dance in front of or with men who are not their husbands. Nonetheless, I think the main point of the show is not to highlight differences but to show that regardless of religion, we are all the same. Thus, there are a lot of everyday sitcom situations that are explored.

I know there was hope that Little Mosque... would get picked up in the US but alas they had to come up with their own series and I'm sure they'll talk about Aliens in America like it is a completely original idea. There are a few differences but the premise of a Muslim integrating into North American life and the social message that the show sends are the same. However, with Aliens... being an American show, of course, the main Muslim is not American because it would be too much for him to be Muslim, brown AND American. But I guess I should be commending them. Baby steps are always good. Actually, I quite like Aliens... I think it is funny. And hey, it is filmed in Vancouver!