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Since the "John Huang" affair surfaced almost a year ago, a number of other Asians and Asian-Americans have been implicated in various ways in campaign finance irregularity, with or without any substance. The Democratic National Committee has bent over backwards to scrutinize all donors with Asian-sounding names and Republicans are having the same kind of knee-jerk reaction. The media and sundry politicians had a field day ridiculing Asian Americans. It now seems that all Asians and Asian-Americans are suspects just by having Asian-sounding names.

What do we really want to accomplish with our political donations? Do we feel our campaign donation monies have been well-spent? Do we want to help elect only those politicians who believe and want to help Asian Americans become equal partners in this country? or do we just want to buy some imaginery goodwill or protection? Have we accomplish even that so far?

Are there better ways to use our political donation monies to advance our political agenda? and if so, what are they?

For starter, what if we find a way to pull all our monies into a pool and use it to bargain for real changes that benefit our community? What if all Asian American donors turn around and donate the monies to Asian American organizations that work to advance our political agenda in this country? There must be others. Let's us hear them.

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Each month, the Asian American Observer picks a topic and invite visitors to express their opinions. This being the month of May, the officially-designated Asian Heritage Month, let’s take a look at how various government units, private companies and community organizations celebrate the occasion, and see if it makes sense.

Think about the business of designating a month of the year to honor a minority group. Is it necessary? Is it a good gesture? Is it just a gesture? Does it help the community? If so, how? Has the Asian Heritage Month mean much to Asian Americans? Has it mean much to non-Asian Americans?

Also think about how the celebration is handled: Does the top people give it their personal support and participation? Or do they just spend some money and get it over with? What kind of things are done during the celebration? How about participation, by Asian Americans, by non-Asian Americans? Is there a better way to accomplish the same objective? If so, tell us how better you would celebrate Asian Heritage Month.

Please limit your opinion to 500 words, or 25-30 lines. Also, please stick to the issue, and do not use any profanity. Asian American Observer reserves the rights to edit your responses for clarity and length.