U.S. SOCIETY - Dollars and Scents – the flowering of ethnics

On July 2, 2007, just weeks after announcing that they were ready to accept employment based visa applications from hundreds of thousands of legal immigrant professionals, many of whom have been waiting for years, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) did a volte face and announced that their applications will not be entertained till further notice.

Voila, what else do you expect after this, but thousands of very disappointed professionals? And how do they express their utter frustration at this emotional roller coaster, and with the over 250 million US dollars that they pumped into the U.S. economy in various application costs and the medical expenses, legal fees, etc.? Well, they do so by taking the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi to the doorsteps of U.S. administration.

While mainstream America goes on with its business as usual, there is a refreshing whiff of diversity in its politics that is now blowing from the ethnics and enriching mainstream politics. A literal experience of this fragrance reached Emilio Gonzalez, the director of the USCIS, when his office in Washington, DC received flower bouquets by the hundreds on July 10^th, in a unique protest by the many affected in this flip flop by his department.

Gandhigiri and Reverse Gandhigiri

However, this Gandhigiri of legal immigrants was brilliantly countered by reverse Gandhigiri from the Director of USCIS, who issued a statement, saying, “I understand that individuals are planning to send flowers to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) beginning on Tuesday, July 10. USCIS has made arrangements to forward those flowers to our injured service members recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and at Bethesda Naval Hospital.” So it seems that USCIS too was inspired by Gandhi in saving its face and deflecting the onslaught of flower power.

This phenomenon is a unique display of cross-pollination of democratic thought across cultures wherein ideas rooted in the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, who led a life that exemplified the power of righteousness and its ultimate triumph, and shook an empire with his unique and non-violent protests, are being used to register a protest in a foreign culture in the 21^st century. And the target of protests too is using Gandhian principles to minimize damage – certainly a radical difference in a culture where lawsuits are the first recourse to any dispute.

This example of democratic innovation from an ethnic community in the U.S., for this protest is being led mainly by people of Indian origin, comes close on the heels of another milestone in mainstream American politics – the Indian American community contributed over three million dollars to Sen. Hilary Clinton’s campaign in last month, alone.

Dollars and Scents

The power of ideas is the oxygen of any democracy, and over the centuries the United States has vigorously nurtured an environment that fosters the flowering of democratic debate. Participation in this debate has often meant that interest groups coalesce to influence public policy – and more often than not, the mother’s milk of politics has been campaign finance.

When added to the fund raisers for other Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, June and July of 2007 will go down as historic months in which the Indian American community contributed the highest amount to presidential races; and brought the fragrance of Gandhian thought to mainstream America. This is a historic summer in which ethnics have contributed unprecedented dollars and ideas to American politics.

This globalized, multicultural, interconnected world is not a cliché – it is a reality, and the reality is hitting home with its dollars and scents. Political presidential candidates ranging from Senator Clinton to potentials like Newt Gingrich need to smell the coffee, or might we say flowers? While the contribution of dollars is very important, yet the thinking elite of America should take a few minutes to absorb and benefit from the power of democratic ideas too which are seeping into American polity by virtue of the presence of ethnics. These ethnics are bringing not only the familiar dollars and cents, but also newer forms of democratic messaging into American politics.

The ethnics bring not only their wallets to the fund raisers, but also their cultural prisms into American politics. The smart candidate goes not after their dollars, but seeks creativity and newer forms of democratic thought which could enrich American society and global communities. Ideas from ethnics may at times provide an innovative break from the groupthink of mainstream politics – in addition to spending millions of dollars on research on foreign policy, and hundreds of hours on foreign trips to understand foreign cultures, it may well benefit American leaderships to leverage the presence of ethnics in their own backyard.

Images and imagination flow across borders, and in the case of India, the much talked about film industry has at last produced a symbol that has inspired action in a foreign culture. Little did Emilio Gonzalez know that the hundreds of bouquets on his desk owed their origins to an India film, “Laage Raho Munna Bhai” – well now he surely does. The film, a spoof on the life and principles of Mahatma Gandhi, and advocating a funny bone approach to societal protest, has struck a chord amongst millions in India, and now is enriching American democracy by inspiring this unique protest.

Dollars in political contributions and the scents of ideas inspired by Gandhi – the ethnics are making sense in American politics.