Save Our Activists

A light went off in my head as I remembered the three letters, and only three letters, I sent few days ago to the three newcomers--one gentleman and two ladies. A great sense of disappointment befell me. A couple of phone calls I made confirmed my hunch. The three musketeers failed to consider the possibility that only three letters have been sent out addressed to them only.

Why did they do it? They care for the organization and its image, they claimed. And whatever happened to one-on-one feedback, I asked? There was silence. Given their nonexistent volunteer track record, it was disheartening to see their first and only lobbying effort being targeted at a fellow volunteer. This is a case of confused priorities.

I admit the letters I sent were a case-study in both poor spelling and awful grammar (old habits die hard and in my case may become immortal.) I am not sure my letters were so hazardous to Arab America to merit such a concerted "campaign" to be waged by the three. Such unfortunate encounters take their toll on activists. After this demoralizing episode, I quit community activism for more than a year and was content to go it alone. I was only punishing myself by doing this since they really cared less. And who knows, if the three can find the energy to "expose" a volunteer's mistake, there is always hope they can do miracles when the culprit is a sponsor of a bad piece of legislation.

Let's call a moratorium on the blame game. The obsessive compulsive complaining habitual recreational finger-pointing pessimistic lot (inhale now) are degrading the political debate while offering little else of substance. We all know the type. It is one thing for a community activist to vent his or her frustrations at the perceived lack of progress. But the rancorous criticism aimed at anything and everything is hurting morale and driving existing and potential activists away from coordinated activism and into closet activism.

No one is advocating censorship or limits on freedoms of expression. A candid and constructive debate on the state of our social and political direction as a community is healthy when tempered with a sense of responsibility towards those amongst us with a strong sense of civic duty. Unlike any other time in our community's history, today and for many years to come, the positive political influence Arab Americans can exert on US policies is at its greatest, if we choose too.

The US presently is the undisputed world hegemon. A strong Arab American grassroots can, over time, influence the outcome of both domestic and international policy. But it all starts at the grassroots. The grassroots is the collective effort of everyday people in our community who wish to make a difference. "Collective" is the magic word. When faced with constant squabbles and criticism, most activists opt to work independently depriving us from the much needed group effort. Then we all lose.

I remember days when volunteers of all ages used to flood an event offering help with mundane and tedious but vitally critical tasks of political mobilization. From phone calling and letter writing to envelope stuffing and stamp licking; and from organizing demonstrations to door-to-door congressional campaign leafleting and sign posting drives. Such are the unglamorous but essential duties of grassroots activism. Civic duty was real hot then within our community. Nowadays, our activists seem to take on arrows from all sides including ours.

The straw that broke my Bronco's back was contributed by an acquaintance of mine not known for his generosity or political activism. His constant lambasting of alleged "gross incompetence" of our grassroots organizations and volunteers can puncture the best of ear drums and test the patience of reasonable people. He cited the low turnout for the Palestinian quilt project displayed during the 50 Years Of Dispossession demonstration in Washington, DC.

Admittedly, there were more pieces on the quilt than actual participants. But he conveniently failed to see the importance of his presence as a critical factor for the success of the demonstration. As usual, he expected demonstrators and supporters to rise from the earth and fill the demonstration. It is not his absence which I found annoying inasmuch as his habitual denouncement of the organizers and activists at every opportunity.

Let's propose an activists' bill of rights to ensure those who toil for our issues in an already hostile and thankless environment do not return home to more hostility. Those unsung heroes of our community who sacrifice their time and money which could be spent watching movies or shopping should be treated with some deference if possible. If not, most of them would welcome neutral silence.

After years in the customer service profession, I learned to appreciate candid, balanced, and private feedback from my customers. My computer has sent numerous private emails of fair praise and mild protest. I make it a habit to emphasize the former whenever I put on the grouch's hat. I also receive numerous compliments and nasty comments from readers regularly. It would be silly for me to pick up the phone and complain about IBM's customer service if I am not a customer of IBM. Complaining for the sake of complaining is pointless. The art of balanced and constructive feedback takes practice and is often the product of good upbringing (this is my humble contribution to recreational social science).

The traditional complainers' diatribes are often served with the usual allegations of rampant disorganization and mismanagement, rude and arrogant personalities, and self-serving agendas of activists and grassroots leaders. Throw in embassy influences and business interests and you have the seeds of a blockbuster, albeit in an Arab country only. The more senior complainers throw in prescriptions for organizational potency and five-year plans on how to turn our organizations into Super Organizations and how to channel volunteer efforts into the Right Path.

We might take those suggestions seriously had the ombudsmen been members or activists who understand how much sweat goes into sustained volunteerism. But the frequency and speed by which this genre of blamers is ready to write off everyone in sight associated with our modest effort to make a difference is truly annoying. Sure they are free to offer such advice. The rest of us have the right to plug our ears too as I do often under such circumstances. Those who do not like the status quo are encouraged to start their own projects and campaigns to test their vision in the real world.

CAIR, while not exactly an Arab American organization, offers a good example where a determined and visionary gentleman by the name of Nihad Awad decided there was a need that is not being addressed effectively by existing organizations. Presently, CAIR is a well-established grassroots project whose focus is media and civil rights issues. CAIR does a darn good job at it too. I never heard Nihad complaining or undermining others. He just did it. This is the free market of ideas. Had Mr. Awad's vision been off target, CAIR would not be around today.

So upon encountering a habitual grouch, let's ask him or her to have a heart. There are no material gains in volunteerism. Only ideals bordering on spiritualism drive those few and constantly shrinking cadres of community volunteers and activists to save the world. Let's all become volunteers in the quest for saving our volunteers from extinction and keep the world of Arab American activism a hospitable place for all.