The Dearborn Heights, Michigan Police Dept. has just demonstrated how easy it is to discount our own American symbols and celebrate foreign representations.

At a time when our own citizens are challenging the foundations of this country, it’s important to turn to those emblems and insignias that represent the values and beliefs we hold dear. Unfortunately, it’s considered acceptable by some to tear down the United States: burn its flag, ridicule its Judeo-Christian foundations and discount the standards to which we all have been held to account. Dearborn Heights, Michigan has just demonstrated how easy it is to discount our own symbols and celebrate foreign representations: Dearborn Heights Police Department in Michigan has unveiled the first police patch in the United States featuring both English and Arabic lettering, a move meant to reflect the city's large Middle Eastern population. The department celebrated the patch in a post on Facebook Wednesday evening, praising Officer Ermily Murdoc, the person who designed and created them. They note the Arabic lettering on the patch is optional as they seek to ‘honor the diversity’ in their community. [snip] Census data reported by the Detroit Free Press in 2023 shows that the city of Dearborn Heights is roughly 39 percent Middle Eastern or North African (MENA), with most of those Arab. Neighboring Dearborn has a nearly 55 percent population with MENA ancestry, also with most being Arab. Significant Protests When the proposal became widely known, protests were loud and furious online. The proposal and Facebook post were removed shortly thereafter. The police department is supposed to represent and serve all the people, and the patch was clearly directed to the Muslim population, which could be seen as excluding the people of the wider community. It created controversy for a number of reasons: many Americans have concerns about showing preferred treatment for the Muslim population over the wider population; the action was seen as exclusionary. But it’s also important to point out that the United States has its share of emblems and symbols that we treasure, and that we feel represent us and the country, that are a source of pride. Some of them are displayed in this blog. Posted Without Permission How did the patch end up being posted without permission : Newsweek contacted Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi for comment in response to the fallout over the badge. In response, his office shared a press release that included comments from Bazzi, reading in part, ‘On Wednesday, September 3rd, information was disseminated from the Dearborn Heights Police Department regarding a digital mock-up of the DHPD patch bearing the department name translated in Arabic script.’ ‘The design mock-up idea showed the words 'Dearborn Heights Police' in Arabic and was said to be optional. The patch effort was an internal discussion among some within the police department, which was not put forth for consensus or further review,’ the post continued. Pushback from Proposal Supporters Some people didn’t understand why there was controversy about the patch, particularly since it was optional to wear it: Narjes Rahmati, a historian, wrote on X: 'There is absolutely nothing related to Islam in this uniform patch. It says, in Arabic, ‘Dearborn Heights Police.’ Dearborn Heights has been home to a Christian and Muslim Arab community for over a century.’’ Ms. Rahmati didn’t contemplate that people who didn’t read Arabic would not know the meaning of the words, and might believe they were intended to appeal only to the Muslim population. Dearborn Heights may have been home to Christians and Muslims, but only the Muslims were highlighted. Another X poster made the following comment: @BigBlueWaveUSA, an account on X which has over 100,000 followers and shares posts in opposition to President Donald Trump: ‘This. Is. Awesome! In a country full of Republicans setting a tone of hated toward EVERYONE who is non-Christian, we need this! Dearborn Heights has a very high percentage of Arab American residents and law enforcement officers - so this is not just appropriate, it's wonderful.’ This poster saw that underneath the recognition of the Arab population, the denigration of the Republicans would also occur. Uniquely American Symbols Most of all, we need to try to recognize those symbols that are uniquely American, when we are taking official steps, particularly by government agencies. Recognizing that appropriate steps were not taken to consider the patch, the mayor of Dearborn Heights spoke up : ‘Should efforts like this be formally undertaken to make any changes to the Police uniform, it is our goal to include multiple PD stakeholders for a larger conversation, to ensure all are included in the discussion.  As we are one PD, each individual’s uniform represents the DHPD as a whole, and therefore merits the review and input of all.’ A person can question whether the consideration of an action like this one, that would be divisive and antagonistic, is appropriate. Maybe we should spend more time identifying those emblems that are fundamentally American and that will bring us together. An Article V Convention Paves the Way With an Article V Convention, the people will be empowered to set limits in several ways, when government steps over its appropriate boundaries. By setting limits on fiscal spending and length of terms, we take on the responsibility of limiting the excesses of government. Learn more and join us. #

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