I am voting for Barack Obama. It will be the first vote I ever cast as an American citizen and it will be done so with all the pride and honor a human being could possibly feel. This entry is my story. It represents what is most beautiful about this country, and the supreme importance of not taking that beauty for granted. I hope that by telling it, I can inspire you to be a better American.
Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Sepandan Farnia, but I go by the name of Sand. My mother, my brother and I emigrated to the United States, specifically Oklahoma City, from the country of Iran in 1985, when I was 8 years old. My mother was 27 at the time and her beloved husband, my father, had been tortured and killed by the Iranian regime just three years earlier. What I know about my father is that he was a communist, an activist, and an atheist, who died for and because of his beliefs. What I don’t know is the confluence of events or specific details that lead to his death. I remember having to move constantly from place to place and having to hide in attics or closets or basements as a little kid. After my father’s capture, the three of us could be used as torture-bait for my father to give them information about his connections, his friends. So the three of us were on the run, from our own government, in our own country.
Once my mother learned of his death and the mourning period had ended, she made the decision to bring us to the United States. I had an aunt and uncle who had emigrated here when U.S. - Iranian relations were less hostile, and they had already become permanent residents. This made it somewhat easier (but still extremely difficult) for us to be granted Visitor’s Visas to the U.S.
Once here, my mother enrolled us in schools and began working, obviously illegally since we were only here as visitors. Once the government found out we were still here, we filed for political asylum and a tumultuous 12-year legal battle ensued. Ah, the Constitution of the United States of America... What a divine document! What a wonderful gift for human beings to give to their descendants! The thought of it ignites my soul. Just words. Just words that grant, among a plethora of other priceless and sacred rights, anyone in this country to at the very least explain their side of the story when charged with a crime. Yes, I was given habeas corpus.
During that 12 years, many significant days went by, the day we had in court, the day our asylum was denied, the few days when our multiple appeals were denied, and the day the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to hear our case and thus we were deported.
But during that 12 years, many more significant days went by, the day I first kissed a girl, the day I got my driver’s license, the day I graduated high school, the days I was in love, and the days I spent in college, and the days I made friends and became closer with them. The American life had been given to me and even if for a brief moment I cherished it and never took for granted the possibility of it being stripped from me. I lived my life in those days and in these days with the vigor of the full knowledge of the fragility and sacredness of it. And I have even more evidence to offer you to support this claim.
Once the 10th Circuit Court denied our appeal the situation looked grim. I remember my brother and I making a list of countries we would want to go to, because returning to Iran at our age with our history was out of the question. One of the criteria for my list was they had to be English speaking. Did you know that official language of Belize is English? But at the same time our lawyer told us of one last ditch final possibility of staying.
He said we could convince a congressman to introduce what is called a private bill in congress on our behalf. This would be a law passed by the United States of America that would only affect those people specifically named within the law (us), as being exceptions in the current law. To do this we would have to convince a congressman to take up our cause notwithstanding that we broke the law, but also saying that the circumstances in our lives had changed and therefore required an exception to be made. In addition, this type of law was an extreme rarity even in a Democratic congress, but it’s 1996 and Republican statistics were even more abysmal regarding private bills. I don’t remember the exact numbers he gave us, I just remember the odds were fucking astronomical. Nonetheless, we got busy.
We began intensely lobbying everyone we knew, friends, coworkers, professors, and teachers and pleading with them to take the time to call our congressman, Representative Ernest Istook, on our behalf. Being from Oklahoma in 1996, Mr. Istook was naturally a Republican, so maybe our chances were even more minuscule. But by luck, or by miracle, Mr. Istook had an American angel in an aide working for him. Her name is Micah Swafford. I didn’t know in what capacity Micah worked for the congressman, all I knew was she was the one who called us to hear our case, and she was the go between for us and the congressman. I only met her a couple of times and mostly talked with her on the phone. Normally I wouldn’t drop somebody’s name without permission, but I wanted to give her name praise, in an attempt to portray my family’s ineffable gratitude to her.
In time our momentum grew and we got the support of Sen. Don Nickels, former Sen. David Boren, and a few other local names. We were three Iranians in heavily Republican Oklahoma with a chance at a miracle. My mother decided to move to Houston for a new job and to rally support in another community. My brother and I remained in school at the University of Oklahoma.
Then another tragedy fell upon us in November of 1997. While our bill was pending, my mother died in a car accident in Houston. Her death had a much more profound impact on my life than I was willing to accept at the time. I tried to face it with strength but sometimes strength is just a form of denial. I had no clue that even a decade or more later, the wounds would not be fully healed.
The bill fittingly also died when congress adjourned in 1998. It was reintroduced in the new congress with even more enthusiasm for obvious reasons, and it was finally swept in with a package that President Clinton signed in November of 2000, at the height of the Florida recount. Here is the actual text of the bill if you care to read it. Finally, victory! But at what cost?
The next few years of my life were a blur of emotional roller coasters, irresponsibility, and excessive partying and gambling. I was pretty much a hedonist and I’m not afraid to admit it. I left OU with just one class to finish for a philosophy degree. I had to learn some shit the hard way, but I learned. I still kept a close eye on politics because of how personally it had affected my life and would continue to. I watched it passively, not really enjoying what I saw...
Until I saw Barack Obama.
And thus began the best part of my life. I was living in Atlanta, working as an office manager for a small company, when I saw Barack Obama not deny the possibility of a run at the office on Meet the Press (RiP TR). For the next year I watched as all my hopes were once again being answered. Obama has, over the past several months, inspired me to achieve my own goals. His words, just words, moved me in a way that no one ever has through a television set or a computer. His words, just words of hope, helped me to slowly transform my life into something he would respect, something he would look at and say "I’m proud of that American". His words, just words of acceptance reminded me that Republicans are not the enemy and loyalty to party does not trump loyalty to country. His words, just words instilled in me a tremendous amount of respect and trust for him, one that is far deeper and stronger than for any blogger, or any columnist, or any pundit on the tube. I’m convinced that this man will make an epic president and I’m trying to help in my own way.
Having attained this new found hope and inspiration here are the things I accomplished in the last year, in order:
-I filed my paperwork to become a citizen and attained my citizenship in May of last year.
-I began reading Daily Kos, among other blogs and paying much more attention to it all.
-I moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Tampa, Florida. I did this because an opportunity presented itself and I made a spur of the moment decision. Turned out to be the best decision of my life.
-I registered to vote in Florida.
-I started working out vigorously.
-I quit smoking.
-I got a job paying almost twice what I made in Atlanta.
-I won a poker tournament and bought a motorcycle with the winnings.
-I moved to a condo on the beach.
-Been inspired to make my voice heard.
-And um..., I bought this nice iMac.
-I made my own brand new blog. It is a work in progress, but I'm shamelessly plugging it.
-And now I’m writing my first major post in the blogosphere.
I shit you not, people. I know its egocentric but I don’t want to take an iota of this year of my life for granted, including this election. The context by which this election celebrates the culmination of my intense politically driven life is something I plan to treasure forever. I love my country more every day that Obama gets closer to becoming president, and I’m fully enjoying this ride.
When he maneuvers politically to win the election, I think "Awesome!" When he attacks, I cheer. When he talks about faith, I cheer, and I’m an atheist. I want him to do whatever it takes to win this election because I believe when it comes time to govern this man will do it historically proficiently. So I’m not one of these people that believes Obama can do no wrong, I believe he can do one wrong, lose this election.
Happy 4th of July everyone!
This entry is cross-posted at my new blog: http://www.progressivejunction.com
Please forgive the McCain ads, it is a work in progress. Lol.
P.S. This is my first post here, but I've been reading this site every day for well over a year. Also, I have a very long work day, but will try to respond to comments by tomorrow night. Thanks!