My Children, Ralph Nader and the South China Sea

I basked in the warm Borneo sun, following a long
run somewhere at the edge of a rainforest. The beach was only partly
clean, but the water was most inviting. My children ran excitedly,
collecting what I assumed to be shells and whatever other treasures the
South China Sea had decided to divulge that afternoon. Their movement,
from afar, signaled frenzy and perhaps even a slight panic. I hesitated
at first, then ran to investigate.

At the ages of six and four, my girls Zarefah and
Iman were already the most kindhearted kids. They were actually going
through complete and unmitigated panic, as they had just noticed the
starfish which had been cast off by the waves and which were now dotting
the shoreline as far as the eye could see. The children became
determined to place every single one of them back in the water before
they died.

But most all of them were already dead.

My kids didn't know this. And I didn't have the
courage to break the dreadful news. I stood in silence, proud to the
core, as the girls' shaky voices urged everyone around them to help.
Then I too was summoned. "Dad, what are you waiting for? Please help us
before they all die." I tried to absolve myself from what seemed to me a
waste of time. But when I saw the tears in Zarefah's eyes, and heard
the fright in her voice, I joined in - as enthusiastically as the many
other beachgoers-turned-environmentalists.

Four years later, in 2008, both Zarefah and Iman
voted for independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader. They were ten
and eight, so their votes didn't count. It was a mockup election at
their elementary school in the little town of Bothell in Washington
State. One of their teachers told me that she was "very surprised to see
how much support Nader has in our school." It was well beyond the
national average. In the same way the girls had urged everyone to save
the starfish of the South China Sea, they now relentlessly campaigned
for Ralph Nader among their peers. Their main argument was: Ralph Nader
has done so much work to save American lives, and both Obama and McCain
would enact policies that would take away many innocent lives - of
Americans and non-Americans alike. Unaware of the power of corporations
and the pro-Israel lobby, the classmates voted for Nader in droves. In
the end, the true American hero - at least as far as our family is
concerned - tied with McCain, but lost to Obama. Even children can be
swept by the "audacity of hope" fever. Now, like many of their parents,
they have probably realized what a folly that decision was. My kids
still say to their friends, "If only you voted Nader..."

Zarefah and Iman have always worked tirelessly
for what they believed in. They once made an arrangement with a local
food bank, which involved devoting part of their weekend to collecting
canned food in front of the local grocery store. "Hi Daddy," they would
scream in exhilaration as I drove in to pick them up. "Look how much
food we got!" Then they would point at two huge shopping carts
overflowing with tuna cans and baby food.

A few months ago, Iman somberly and sorrowfully
walked away from her Girl Scout troops. They had been asked to raise
money to send cookies to US soldiers in Iraq for Christmas. "When they
leave Iraqis alone, I will buy them all the cookies they want," Iman
insisted. Despite her principled decision, she cried intermittently for
days. As an alternative, the girls decided to help their mother organize
several fundraisers to raise funds for KinderUSA and Palestine
Children's Relief Fund. Gaza children urgently need food and medical
treatment, and Zarefah and Iman have risen to the occasion.

Now they are busily pondering this whole Earth
Hour craze. I am sure that the lights of our house will be turned off
for an hour on the last Saturday of March. The girls are unlikely to be
satisfied by this, however. I can imagine Zarefah's argument, which is
likely to be seconded by Iman, or the other way around. She is likely to
claim that World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) intended the hour to
symbolize what ordinary people can do to save the environment; that it's
not enough for one iconic building in a city to shut off its lights
while others stay lit. I am likely to agree, and they are likely to
campaign among their peers - especially those who regretfully failed to
vote Nader - to urge their families to also turn off the lights for an
hour on March 27.

For the time being, Zarefah is busily fundraising
for a cancer research facility in Washington. A friend of hers, a
beautiful boy of the same age, is succumbing to an aggressive form of
cancer. After years battling the disease, the boy chose not to be
subjugated to any more painful, and at this point, futile treatment. His
friends are devastated. Zarefah told me through tears that she was
throwing a party aimed at showing their love and solidarity with the
kid, and also raising funds for cancer research. She spent a whole day
on the phone calling for action. I pledged two hundred dollars; others
even more.

No, Zarefah and Iman don't take on lost causes.
And they don't take on easy causes either. They understand that to make a
difference one has to start somewhere, and this entails action at the
level of the individual - no matter how seemingly limited her or his
capacity. As we drove away from the South China Sea, close to midnight
over five years ago, both girls fell asleep almost immediately. They
were exhausted, and smelled of fish and salt. That day they had "saved"
hundreds of starfish. And yet, thousands more were left behind. I had
only managed to tear them away from their urgent task by promising to
return with them the very next day, first thing in the morning, to save
the rest. And we did.

But I am yet to break the news to them that Ralph
Nader is unlikely to run for another presidential election.