An Independence Day Reflection

A Sunlit Uplands reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, has submitted the following Fourth of July reflection:

As we approach the anniversary of our Nation's Declaration of Independence and remember our founding fathers' struggle for freedom, I had a thought-provoking incident during the morning train commute.

A young woman wearing a head scarf and chic casual business attire boarded the train. She appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent. This theory was validated when I saw that she wore a large button on the strap of her leather bag with the words "Arab American and I vote" emblazoned on it.

My first thought, as we near the July 4th holiday was: "what a great country we live in where anyone, including members of a population group where large segments would have America blown up into oblivion, can exercise suffrage and influence the political future of our local and national governments."

My second thought was: "I wonder how freely women can vote in Arab/Islamic majority countries?"

This led to an internet search that yielded the following excerpt from a 2002 World Bank Forum:

GENDER AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE ARAB REGION:

The diverse forms of governance that characterize the Arab world, from monarchic or dynastic rule, to centralized one party systems, to fledgling multiparty democracies play a critical role in shaping the opportunities and mechanisms for political and civic participation for both men and women. Nonetheless, as recent empirical evidence shows, women everywhere suffer from what (has been referred) to as a 'double jeopardy'. This is fundamentally because in all Arab countries, the relationship between the State and women is not a direct one, rather it is mediated by a male kinsman (father, brother, husband). For the average Arab women in many countries, basic citizenship rights such as the right to vote, to issue an identity card or a passport, to access social protection schemes and entitlements, to send their children to school, to marry, to travel, to pass on citizenship to their children, are either lacking, or are granted through the mediation of a male family member. Given the accepted definition of citizenship as a direct relationship to the State, (what) does that say about the applicability of the concept to women in the Arab world?

Which led to a third thought....What if my non-Muslim daughters lived in an Arab/Islamic-dominated state? What rights and freedoms would they enjoy? Could they wear a button proclaiming their heritage and walk in peace?

For all its faults, the influence of Greco-Roman civilization (e.g., the notion of democracy) and Judeo-Christian values (e.g., the sanctity of life, the basic dignity of all human beings created in the image and likeness of God, and the potential for eternal salvation secured at a "Great Price") in our European heritage still make America...a "light on the hill" to ALL People, of goodwill, on Earth.

God Bless America and a Happy Fourth!