I was actually going to begin this post with a parody of the cheery song from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music,” “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?,” but decided against it for two reasons. First, no English words rhyme with “Omar,” so you’re stuck with fake sort-of rhymes like “home are” and “sonar,” and second, this is too serious a problem to cover in a song parody.

Among Donald Trump’s myriad offensive, stupid and gratuitously inflammatory comments while President was when he said in 2019 that the members of “the Squad” should “go back to where they came from.” This was particularly inept since most of that group of radical, socialist, anti-Semitic and or dumb-as-bricks Democrats are “from” the good ol’ USA, but in the case of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) at least, Trump may have had a valid point that he, as usual, chose the worst possible way to express.

In 2019, Omar declared as part of the anti-Semitic theme much of the Squad vocally embraces, “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says that it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.” Her message was that a lot of U.S. officials—you know, Jews— allowed a conflicting fealty to Israel to blunt their duty to pursue what is in the best interest of the United States. But yesterday, a video surfaced on Twitter/X showing Omar rousing a Somali-American crowd in her district by saying in part,

“The woman you sent to Congress is working day and night to protect your interest. She knows your plight and that of Somalia. I am as concerned about Somalia as you guys are…Together we will protect the interests of Somalia…We Somalis must have the confidence in ourselves that we call the shots in the U.S. The U.S. government will only do what Somalians in the U.S. tell them to do. They will do what we want and nothing else….[the U.S. government] must follow our orders and that is how we will safeguard the interest of Somalia… Sleep in comfort, knowing I am here to protect the interests of Somalia from inside the U.S. system.”

A caveat is warranted: this is translated from the Somali tongue, which Omar used throughout her speech. Moreover, she is far from the first, and will not be the last, politician to pander wildly and excessively to the emotions of a crowd of supporters. But the oath of office Americans must take when they enter Congress states,

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

A core concept at the foundation of the United States of America is that when immigrants come here seeking a “better life,”there is a tacit understanding that they do so fully intending to become Americans, meaning that they intend to accept and adopt this nation’s language, values and culture. This does not mean that they must or should reject their own ethnic origins, traditions and nationality. It does mean that we trust new citizens, and certainly the elected representatives of those citizens, to always keep the interests of their adopted homeland as their primary priority.

This concept is one of the reasons President Roosevelt’s imprisonment (Okay, “internment”) of Japanese-Americans during World War II is such a scar on our history. He (and Congress, and the Supreme Court) behaved as if assimilation and the “melting pot” were myths, merely comfortable fantasies to be given lip-service until it was time to call their bluff. True: all immigrant communities have sent members to Congress representing the special interests of those groups, and those members have also been reliable advocates of U.S. policies favoring their nations of origin…and there’s nothing wrong with that.

But an Irish politician from Southie in Boston who said, “Sleep in comfort, knowing I am here to protect the interests of Ireland from inside the U.S. system” would have a lot of explaining to do.

Ambassador Rhoda J. Elmi, the deputy minister of foreign affairs for the Republic of Somaliland, issued a statement condemning Omar’s speech from the viewpoint of her nation as well:

We were profoundly surprised, even shocked on discovering the remarks made by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D) of Minnesota in a recent public forum, widely circulated on most social media platforms…The language she employed was regrettably unbecoming of both the office she holds and the constituents she represents. Her expressions were lacking in common decency and revealed a significant lack of understanding of basic facts. Specifically troubling, were her endeavors to revive the once-violent and dangerous ideology of Greater Somalia or Somali Weyn, which caused so much death, destruction and conflict in the Horn of Africa. Furthermore, her use of ethno-racist rhetoric didn’t escape attention and left many, with a deep sense of disappointment. This was particularly bewildering for those who recall similar racist attacks she endured not long ago, of being ”not American enough” and was baffling to see her take a similar approach and accuse the entire Somaliland nation of “falsely claiming Somali identity.” Moreover, her ignorance of  US –Somaliland cooperation in the fight against terror and piracy in the Gulf of Aden & Gulf Of Berbera was shocking to say the least. We hope the house leadership and her caucus will take note of her public conduct, unbecoming a United States Congresswoman nor representative of the august house she serves in.

Is Omar “American enough”  to represent American citizens in Congress? What does being an American mean in the 21st century?

And how do you treat a problem like Rep. Omar?