Valentine

Fight for Right by Anhthao Bui

“If you find discrimination, you need to fight for rights, no matter what.”
–California Assemblyman Paul Fong

Professor Paul Fong introduces me to his friends and relatives as a poet, writer, and his former student at Evergreen College each time I attend his events. If Professor Fong is surrounding with media, fans, and supporters, he gives a signal to say “hi,” or let me know he notices my presence. His warm welcome boosts my self-esteem up to the sky and pacifies my ego. Thus, I often attend his events when I have a chance to say “hi” to him, to learn more about his life, his political path, and to be proud of knowing an outstanding California Assemblyman and a well-known politician. The more I know about Professor Fong, the more I am inspired by him and wish to write about him. While the artist Flo Oy Wong created the visual art called Unveiling of Made in USA to honor Professor Fong, I collect information about him, and with my experience as his former student, highlight his characteristics and contributions to the United States.

The Chinese community is one of the oldest Asian communities in the United States. They contributed to the building of the Western United States with hard work. However, the United States government did not treat the Chinese pioneers as well with tremendous unfair laws and policies: they could not become U.S. citizens and own their own property. The Chinese fought against the government to achieve the significant Burlingame Treaty of 1868, which established friendly relations between the U.S. and China. Unfortunately, the Chinese Exclusion Act was signed by Chester A. Arthur on May 1882, which limited Chinese immigration to the United States. This legislation was not overturned until 1943.

Professor Fong’s family is one of the traditional Chinese American immigrant families who live in Sunnyvale, surrounded by the Chinese community’s protection and support. Being raised in the Eastern cultures and educated with a Western education, Professor Fong inherits the Chinese values he proudly described in a speech: “I am a typical Chinese-American who cultivates hard work, achievement, independence and family.” During his early life, he demonstrated a love of nature, animals, and freedom with the interesting story to set a monkey free when he saw it was entrapped. Professor Fong expressed his love of animal with his recent Bill AB 376, the Shark Fin Bill, to protect the endangered animals, although shark fin soup is a popular Chinese traditional meal that brings good profits to Chinese businesses.

Once, when Professor Fong introduced me to his friends, his coworker asked him, “Did she learn from you?”
Professor Fong laughed loudly and answered her, “I do not know what she learned from me.”
When I took Political Science with Professor Fong, I had no idea of the basic concepts of the U.S. political system, because of my English language barrier. Political Science is one of the toughest General Education courses for English as a Second Language Learners. Understanding the difficulties that we newcomers coped with, Professor Fong encouraged us and provided us another opportunity to pass the course by joining community services to earn extra credit points. He told us that he did not expect us to understand and remember the organization of the U.S. governmental system, but he provided fundamental rights for us, the newcomers. He also predicted that at least five percent of his students would be successful in the United States.

A few years later, we easily passed the U.S. citizenship interviews without taking time to learn and memorize all the English political terms. We all agreed that Professor Fong’s Political Science class helped us a lot. I never knew that the subject of racial hatred would become my special interest. The community service hours opened new perspectives on the United State society, taught me to interact with other peoples and cultures, and stimulated in me a desire to succeed. Professor Fong is a magnet with his words: “Whenever you find unfairness and discrimination, you need to fight for rights, no matter what.”

January 8, 2012

Winter Flowers

Montclaire's Garden

November

November

The retired falling leaves leave their silent- tree- partners to boogie in the whirly wind. They collect all their last energy to dance frantically into many directions. The patient naked trees silently watch their dearest spouses exultingly perform the Waltz and metamorphose into vibrant red, light yellow, purple, saffron, brown, and or mustard before they rest in peace on the dry ground. In the early dawn, the tiny sparkling diamond dews decorate Mother Nature’s foliaged coat to signal the world the autumn is in the air.

Shopping centers and malls reorganize their stores with shinning garnish and illuminating ornamentation to catch shoppers’ eyes within the Holidays Season. Colorful produces, glamorous merchandises, and fashion cloths are displayed on the counters, and behind the transparent glasses to seduce consumers. Parking lots happily welcome more cars to the shopping plaza. From the parking lots, pedestrians hear the delightful sounds and charming melodies from the stereo about the May Flower Ship, the Native American tribes, and the American ancestors who fought against hardships at their first steps to the New World.

Every morning on the way to work, I observe dynamical people start their new days in the busy streets with cars and cars. Some women wear makeup while they drive; other men with the coffee mugs try to drink or eat their breakfast when the cars stop at the traffic lights or move slowly. They drop their children at schools in a hurry and leave immediately after trading instant kisses with their children. All at once, from the bottom of my heart, uttering words explore, “Good morning November! Good morning students! Thank you for giving me a chance to share my knowledge with you and to guide you to become good citizens. Thank the Alum Rock’s leaders and the Child Development Company’s employers who give me a job in this great recession! Thank you for your trust in my potential skills to serve the American youth.”

Happy Thanksgiving of the year 2011!
Anhthao Bui

The Fourth of July

By Anhthao Bui


When I first came to the United States, I was jealous of the United States because I thought God was unfair: God took away the other countries’ blessings and poured them into the United States. Therefore, the United States possessed prominent characteristics: prosperity, wealth, abundance, peace, benefits, and top-notch qualities. God was known as the sovereign of justice, but was not fair to the other countries. How can we expect human beings to be fair in the earthly world? However, the longer I have lived in the United States, the more I have learned about the United States, and the more I understand that the American people have sacrificed a lot and have fought against evils day and night to become a fabulous country and bring people around the world together: “One Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."

Two hundred thirty-five years ago, the American people fought against the British Kingdom for freedom, so the United States was born. The Founding Fathers’ goal of liberty was exchanged for blood and invaluable losses: nothing was as valuable as freedom and independence. Liberty was not only the desire of the American people, but it was also the wish of human beings around the world. Thus, the Founding Fathers declared their Independence and guaranteed “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to all the people who live in the United States.

The United States has opened her arms and heart to welcome all the people who seek freedom and protection. The United States is a magnet country that hypnotizes people around the world to settle there for many reasons. The United States is the universal land where human values and talents are accepted and rewarded. In return, the newcomers contribute and devote their potentials and capacities to the United States in order to pay tribute to the ideals represented by the Statue of Liberty. The United States has speedily expanded, grown, and improved, the way a young tree feeds in a fertile land.

The United States builds and creates a liberal environment, a democratic atmosphere and an independent community to guarantee all her citizens the equal rights to express themselves and to practice their cultures and religions in harmony and respect for one another. In 1791 the Constitution enacted the First Amendment to guarantee freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion in the United States. The First Amendment provides citizens the authority to freely express themselves and practice their ideals in safe environment without harm to others. Unfortunately, some people misunderstand the Constitution; they noisily and excessively proclaim their thoughts and opinions, causing insult and damage to America, and comfort to contradictory individuals and controversial federations.

The battle between good and bad never ends. Human history proves that justice and injustice will fight against each other from Alpha to Omega. Other countries are jealous of the United States’ virtues and sovereignty; they cunningly undermine the United States’ ideal systems. They spit verbal venom to confuse and brainwash innocent citizens. The United States encounters human disasters, from the Nine Eleven tragedy to the current recession, and challenges untrustworthy countries. Moreover, the United States is like a fresh salad bowl with a huge variety of ethnicities and peoples. The government hardly satisfies their multicultural demands. The United States stands strong: strict castigation is a must.

Although the United States is confronting rocky tempests, many peoples continue to come to the New World, guided by the radiance of the Statue of Liberty over the horizon. Holding each other’s hands, together they sing aloud to reinstate their faith and trust:

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.
God bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home
God bless America, My home sweet home.

Los Angeles, July 4, 2011

Haiku 101