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This true story gave birth to my political passion. The event was seared into my memory back in the 80s, when I was still in Basrah, I remember my family and I were sleeping on the roof of our house. It was common practice for Iraqis to sleep on the roofs of their houses when the electricity went off. I remember on one of those dark nights, my father lost his temper and started to curse Saddam loudly so that all the neighbors could hear. Frantic, my mother summoned me and my sisters into the car and drove us off to my grandmother’s house, fearful that one of our neighbors might report the incident to Saddam’s intelligence office. The consequences of such defection would have resulted in my father being executed and my family suffering for the rest of our lives. Fortunately, that did not happen, but we lived under constant fear of openly expressing our political opinions in coffee shops and our discontent with a multitude of political decisions in Iraq.
This single event is at the root of my motivation to observe, understand and write about political issues.
I will NOT live under the same fear in America. As an American, I have Freedom of Speech, and I will continue to express my likes and dislikes of American Foreign Policy. I will be an advocate for the policy makers when I believe they are correct, and I will criticize them when I feel they are wrong. I will express the Iraqi sociopolitical voice about America.
Today, I am pleased to announce the birth of my new blog – Coffee Shop Politics. I have decided to relocate my political editorials to this new domain, CoffeeshopPolitics.com. I did this for two main reasons. One, I think politics, especially American Foreign Policy, generates a lot of buzz. A standalone political blog may interest many additional readers and can inspire ongoing forums and discussions on a variety of issues. Two, as many of you know, I have written about several other topics that don’t have anything to do with politics. By separating the political blogs, I will increase the focus on political topics and not dilute the content in amalgam with other topics.
Coffee Shop Politics will be my new virtual podium, through which I plan to share my views on a variety of political topics, such as the rights of Christians to exist in the Middle East, American Foreign Policy in Iraq, ( for example, I still blame the American administration for letting the Iraq-Iran war drag on for eight miserable years) and my political book reviews, among others.
As a naturalized American, I will do my best to articulate my point of view for the benefit of the American public, and offer ground up alternative views to policymakers.
Through my original blog, Nninoss.com, I will continue to document different aspects of my life, such as my thoughts, my milestones, my worldly excursions, and more. Thank you for joining me in my journey to express everything that is important to me.
My dad is on the path of old age at 75 now. He still asks me about Iraq every single time I call home. I believe he is hoping that one day Iraqi with its oil will turn like Dubai. Still remembering that screaming politically oppressed voice of my dad on roof of our house, I dedicate this website for him.
And now, I invite you to visit CoffeeshopPolitics.com to check it out for yourself; and if you have time, maybe read some of the previous political blogs I wrote.
Ninos Youkhana 