Have you heard the story of Farris Hassan, the 16 year old Iraqi-American who skipped school for a school project involving “immersive journalism?” This young idealist ended up in Iraq, arguably the most dangerous place on earth for Americans right now, by way of Kuwait, then Lebanon, then Kuwait again and a long hairy taxi ride.
Crazy sum’bitch.
He is my hero but not for the reasons you may want to believe… I commend him not for his bravery because I honestly do not believe that he realized just how dangerous it would be until he got there and Mustafa “donthockonmybread” Aziz and all of his evil brothers started sharpening their machetes when Farris pulled out his Arabic phrase book and belted out “I want my MTV” in a perfect South Floridian accent (literary license exercised for emphasis).
He was on an idealist’s mission which tells me that he is not quite in touch with reality yet; he is obviously still affected by youth’s innocence.
No, he is my hero because he has balls. Big brass church bells for knee knockers. He skipped school and didn’t tell his parents that he was headed to the desert in search of an A+ on his homework. Now that is cool- no… that is super cool; trying to achieve an A+.
He had adventure in his heart and the desire to be HUGE at whatever it was he was compelled to accomplish. How Uber-American is that?
It hearkens back to the day of the great early Americans who wanted to be the best; when Americans were blazing a trail West simply because they could and there was land left to conquer and claim as one’s own; when Americans built great companies because they worked hard to achieve and weren’t afraid to lead through innovation, when Americans stormed the beaches in world wars knowing that they would be machine-gunned to death but did so unflinchingly because they knew that they were part of something bigger and much more important.
Great Americans with guts and determination who did not need permission to strive to be the best. They did not fear to achieve an A+ nor were they going to ask if it was OK.
I remember going to high school and no one would raise their hand in response to a teacher’s question because they didn’t want to appear to be too smart. I remember when I was in college that kids would shrink from great debate simply because it was not cool to be the nerd.
I raised my hand and my voice and flexed the muscle inside my skull. You wanna know why? Because I wanted an A+ too. I wanted to be the absolute best and brightest and I did not care if everyone else knew it. I want to achieve and be an Uber-American one day.
Farris is a second generation American- his parents moved here from Iraq before he was born simply because they wanted better options as well. They set an awesome example for this young man. You are my hero, Farris; you are an Uber-American, you sir, get an A+.
Now get back to your room and turn off the TV, you still have 714 days left on restriction.
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