Life as an Arab-American

Have a look at Raed's latest entry in his blog.

One particular remark strikes me most:

"It sucks to be an Arab/Muslim living in the US these days. When you go to the middle east, you are a US tax-payer destroying people's houses with your money, and when you come back to the US, you are a suspected terrorist and plane hijacker."

The idea behind taxation is that the funds would be used to benefit the community as a whole. Sadly, this has rarely been the case, if ever. Century after century, tax dollars have fueled war. One half of a trillion dollars from the pockets of ordinary Americans falls into the hands of the so-called "Defense" industry each year. Half a trillion dollars spent on killing.

Even if you condemn this war, what do you say to the people whose lives your tax dollars destroyed?

All that comes to my mind is: "I'm ashamed of the fact I allowed these people to speak for me."