There are many commendable things to say about Rep. Omar. First and foremost, she stands up for what she feels is right regardless how unpopular her position may be.
However, Rep, Omar has a habit of sticking her foot in her mouth. The problem is not what she is saying, at least as far as I’m concerned, it’s how she is saying it.
Most recently. In a speech regarding civil rights and Muslims, she said that after September 11, because “some people did something,” Muslims began losing access to their civil liberties.
That phrase was so insubstantial and vague that it was guaranteed to provoke an outpouring of anti-Omar and anti-Muslim invective from Trump and other right-wing sources. Did she give any thought to the fact that she was addressing a very sensitive subject for her fellow Americans?
What she could and should have said, accurately, was that because Muslims from foreign countries caused the destruction of the World Trade towers and the horrific death of thousands of Americans, American Muslims were losing access to their civil liberties. This would not have been a betrayal in any sense of her cause, her people or her faith. She would have merely been speaking the truth. And no one could have used that statement to attack Muslims.
It she does not feel comfortable speaking that truth, if she is not comfortable criticizing other Muslims or Muslim leadership while excoriating American actions, then she will not be respected. And will not serve the people of her faith well.
Anyone who has the attitude that they cannot criticize their own because so many others criticize them unjustly, is doing themselves and their people a disservice. Whether it’s American nationalists, fervent Jews, or agitated Muslims, the goal should be to make America, or Israel, or orthodoxy, or Palestine the highest example of humanity. And that can only happen through self-criticism.
In the specific case of Rep. Omar, instead of her election to the House being a source of much-needed expansion of sensitivity to Muslim issues through her intelligent comments, she has instead repeatedly created controversy and hurt her cause through careless (or possibly not careless) phrasing of issues. She has given ammunition to her enemies and deprived her mainstream supporters of cover for their support.
If Rep. Omar and her fellow newly-elected fire-breathing progressives in Congress really want to move their projects forward, they would be well advised to tone down the rhetoric, to reduce their confrontational stance, to acknowledge the concerns and doubts of opponents and address those concerns and doubts. If they continue to fight fire with fire, they will end up accomplishing nothing of substance and a huge opportunity to advance social justice in our country will be lost.
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