Mistrust in government

Government Mistrust and Discrimination in the United States

It is estimated that 13 percent of the United States population, or roughly 40 million nationals, are foreign-born, with approximately 6 percent being naturalized American citizens (Dudek, 2015).

Muslims in the United States

Muslims in the United States are estimated to number about 3.3 million, making for one-quarter of the total U.S. population. African-Americans and American Muslims have been treated as second-class citizens in recent years, considering the fact that they are also citizens of the United States (Dudek, 2015).

Furthermore, their affiliation, ethnic origins, ethnicity, and English-language abilities have been brought into question. Terrorism incidents have also culminated in the profiling of Muslims, in the belief that they are responsible for the attacks. Consequently, this has led to government mistrust among the minority communities who feel sidelined economically and politically. This piece seeks to address the actions that have led to discrimination and profiling of the minority communities while urging the lawmakers to come up with the necessary legislation policies to promote inclusivity and equality and reaching out to the American citizens to embrace one another regardless of their culture, religion, and ethnicity.

Prejudice and Stereotyping of American Muslims

Acts of terror in U.S soil have led to prejudice and stereotyping towards American Muslims. After the 9/11 attack, the American Muslim community across the U.S was overlooked leading to the rise of Islamophobia since then (Brooklier, 2015).

Consequently, the religion of Islam was accused of teaching violence and destruction even though the hijackers were extremists (Brooklier, 2015). The American community only considers the misrepresentation of these extremists, with a view that Islam and terrorism are correlated. For instance, the American society had the impression that Osama bin Laden was a representation of Islam.

As a result, this view has led to discrimination, scapegoating and prejudice of the American Muslims whose intention is preaching peace and co-existence among the American citizenry. Subsequently, the Muslim community has been sidelined politically with a majority believing that their election will escalate the acts of terror. As such, the Muslim community does not believe the government is committed to change this perception leading to mistrust.

Discrimination Against Immigrants and African-Americans

The United States is home to immigrants and refugees, who come to seek jobs to better their living standards. Further, some are naturalized and become U.S citizens.

However, historical perspectives have shown discrimination against African-American and immigrants. For instance, anti-immigrant policies have been adopted which discriminate against immigrants, they include; Chinese Exclusion Act, the Alien and Sedition Acts, and Immigration Act of 1924 (Dudek, 2015).

Notably, the discriminatory treatment of naturalized citizens is even captured in the American constitution, Article II, Section one which outlines no person except a natural-born citizen shall be eligible to vie for the office of president.

Additionally, foreign-born Americans face discrimination in access to employment opportunities, contrary to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which proscribes prejudice based on one’s origin. As such, immigrants feel neglected and have lost faith in the authority to address this. On the contrary, they contributed greatly to the net plus of the U.S economy. For instance, in 2010 taxes worth 11.2 billion dollars were paid to the State by immigrants’ households (Team, 2012).

The Role of Lawmakers

Lawmakers form a crucial part of my audience. A majority of the Congress are lawyers, 167 members of the house and 55 senators (Murray, 2017), they are responsible for formulating laws that dictate how various matters in the nation are to be run. Most importantly they are from different religious affiliations, culture, race, and ethnicity.

The congress consists of Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus. Also, a majority of them are entrepreneurs who invest in a variety of businesses in the country. They have invested in businesses such as car alarms, retailing, and hospitality.

Therefore, they should come up with legislation to protect immigrants and African-Americans from discriminatory treatments by employees and other institutions in the state. For instance, they should come up necessary legislation to ensure that the Civil Rights Act is implemented to the letter.

Promoting Unity Among American Citizens

The American population is made up of people from different ethnicities, race, and religion. More importantly, each citizen contributes to the net income of the country, which implies that each American citizen works to better the American economy.

It is also important for the citizenry to note that acts of terror have affected the Muslim community as much as it has the rest of society. Therefore, as American citizens, they should unite to overcome the threats of terrorists.

Notably, the aim of terrorists is to instill fear and create division among Christians and Muslims. The true teaching of Islam is peace; therefore, peaceful co-existence will enable non-Muslims to understand the true teaching of Islam.

For instance, the election of Barrack Obama as the first black president in the history of America raised many racial issues. His campaign and eventual victory shaped the racial and ethical landscape of American society. In addition, many racial issues were brought to the surface, and the result was more divisions across ethnic and racial lines.

Questions were raised on the background of Obama, who was his father, and whether he had what it takes to be an American. Some even went ahead to file court petitions against him on the ground that he was not eligible to be a president. Most importantly, he was elected despite his race and religion, therefore this serves as an example to American society.

Conclusion

In summary, government mistrust has risen in recent years. It is attributed to acts of politicians, some quota of the citizenry, and the government institutions. For instance, American Muslims have been discriminated against with the view that their religion preaches destruction and violence.

Also, immigrants have been looked down upon despite their contribution to the country’s net income. Lawmakers should take up the challenge and come up with the necessary legislation to counter the discriminatory treatments.

References

Brooklier, N. (2015, December 15). Washington State University. Retrieved from Islamophobia: The Stereotyping and Prejudice Towards Muslims Since 9/11: https://hub.wsu.edu/law-justice-realtime/2015/12/17/islamophobia-the-stereotyping-and-prejudice-towards-muslims-since-911/

Dudek, A. (2015, August 27). HuffPost. Retrieved November 5, 2017, from All Americans Not Equal: Mistrust and Discrimination Against Naturalized Citizens in the U.S.: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alev-dudek/foreign-born-citizens-in-america_b_8030968.html

Murray, W. (2017, June 10). Quora. Retrieved from How many of the United States’ current senators and congressmen are lawyers?: https://www.quora.com/How-many-of-the-United-States-current-senators-and-congressmen-are-lawyers

Team, C. I. (2012, July 6). American progress. Retrieved from The Facts on Immigration Today: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2012/07/06/11888/the-facts-on-immigration-today/