Author: Pardeep Kaleka

Pardeep Kaleka: The “might makes right” mindset is acculturated into the racial hurt we consume

Sometimes it feels like the hate that we give back to ourselves cuts the deepest. This American experience can be challenging for a numerous reasons. No matter who you are, you struggle to make a living, make a life, and just find an existence that will help you reach your purpose. Coming from a minority or a marginalized existence can present its own challenges, so we try to assimilate as best as we can. But how are we to know that assimilation into American society also comes at a price? We wish we could just remember Tyre Nichols as...

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Pardeep Kaleka: Why American regret about January 6th is both healthy and the path forward

January 6th has become a date that is seared into the American consciousness. Depending on a variety of factors, including personal political beliefs, today represents significantly different things to different people. To some people, today marks the 2nd anniversary of an insurrection that attempted to overturn a legal and democratic election. For others, today may represent the 2nd anniversary of taking action against a corrupted system and an unjust election. And yet for many others, today may just be another day. The irony is, most people can agree that they are feeling overwhelmed and anxious about the world. My...

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Pardeep Kaleka: The dangers of Kanye West’s antisemitic rants four years after Pittsburgh synagogue tragedy

Four years ago, on October 27, 2018, the country and the world saw the traumatic consequences that the spread of antisemitic hate speech can have on a community. Eleven worshipper were killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue, in the deadliest hate crime in history that was committed against American Jews. The gunman, Robert Bowers, who is still awaiting trial, was radicalized online and proclaimed on his social media that his hatred of Jews stemmed from his anti-immigrant fervor and what he felt was an imminent immigrant invasion caused by Jews in America. Just the year before this hate...

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Heal, Unite, Act: Pardeep Singh Kaleka on restoring hope ten years after the Sikh Temple tragedy

On the morning of August 5, 2012, a White Supremacist gunman assaulted the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, a gurdwara located in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. This violent attack was the deadliest mass shooting of Sikhs in U.S. history, and at the time, was one of the deadliest attacks on a U.S. house of worship in decades. Six worshippers – Paramjit Kaur Saini, Sita Singh, Ranjit Singh, Prakash Singh, Suveg Singh Khattra, and Satwant Singh Kaleka – were killed on that horrific day. An additional community member, Baba Punjab Singh, was severely paralyzed and ultimately passed away from complications related to...

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Pardeep Kaleka: The connections of our Sacred Faiths are calling us to embrace mutuality

There are no shortage of discussions that highlight how we are more disconnected now than ever before. We hear it endlessly in conversations regarding politics and contemporary social issues. The landscape of America seems to constantly reinforce our divisions. However, are we really all that divided? Are we really all that different? And, are we really all that disconnected? Admittedly, my imagination has always longed for relationship and interconnection rather than disconnection and division. Therefore, when I am bombarded with information that informs me that there is constant strife and disunion, it takes a spiritual toll on me. I...

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Pardeep Kaleka: Understanding our moral obligation for delivering humanitarian relief to Afghanistan

“President Biden’s decision to set aside half of Afghanistan’s frozen reserves to 9/11 families is short-sighted, cruel, and will worsen a catastrophe in progress, affecting millions of Afghans, many of whom are on the verge of starvation.” – Lida Azim According to the most recent data collected by the United Nations, “about 90% of the Afghan people live on less then $2 dollars per day, and nearly half of the population is currently facing starvation.” That is nearly 23 million people. This is one of the most severe forms of a humanitarian crisis today, and there should be no...

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