Soothing misunderstandings between American Christians and American Muslims begins with a renewed national commitment to the free exercise of religion. In no way should the government try to prevent the building of the Islamic center at Ground Zero. With this safeguard in place, it should be easier to move the discussion to questions of propriety. With the anniversary of 9/11 upon us, America needs no more gratuitous statements or actions from either Christians or Muslims. Enough damage has been done already, by both Christians and Muslims.
Thankfully, there are very few things that, as Americans, we don’t have the right to do. But just because we can do (or build, or burn) something doesn’t make it a good idea.
“…begins with a renewed national commitment to the free exercise of religion.”
I would rather begin with a renewed national commitment to the free speech. If you have a problem with that, go pound sand.
“Enough damage has been done already, by both Christians and Muslims.” It is absurd to imply an equivancy. Other than the loon in Florida, what damage has been done by Christians?
How about the following stories about efforts to block construction projects by established local congregations of Muslims who have peacefully coexisted with their neighbors for decades:
[url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/13/muslim.tennessee.mosque/]Murfreesboro, TN[/url]
[url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011842,00.html]Sheboygan, WI[/url]
[url=http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/08/24/temecula-mosque/]Riverside County, CA[/url]
This isn’t just about building near Ground Zero.
3 locations in the entire US? No Churches in Saudi Arabia. Is that even in your book #3?
I don’t live in Saudi Arabia. I never took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy. What the government does in Saudi Arabia shouldn’t have any relevance as to whether American citizens should be able to exercise their rights without the application of a religious test. How some Muslims, given the chance, treat Christians would only be relevant to how other Christians should treat other Muslims in a world without the Sermon on the Mount or the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.
RE: “whether American citizens should be able to exercise their rights without the application of a religious test. . . . ”
They are. And Americans are also able to exercise their own free speech rights to protest other American’s actions — that’s the free market of ideas and protest and public pressure.
My point is that the protests involved here are directed at getting the government to deny other citizens their right to assemble on their own property for purposes of religious worship. People can protest all they want—that’s the American way—but when they start pressuring the government to violate the Constitution, there is a problem.
“My point is that the protests involved here are directed at getting the government to deny other citizens their right to assemble on their own property for purposes of religious worship.”
[b]No one[/b] is calling for the constitution to be abrogated. That is simply a lie propagated by the liberal media.
But private citizens also have a right to protest against these other proposed mosques. I how Dale would feel if some survivors of the Branch Davidians wanted to rebuild their temple next door to Dale’s house.
We are also called, or at least I am, when I signed the loyalty oath at work, to protect the US from all enemies foreign and domestic. An Imam who wants the US to become shari’a compliant (which is contrary to the US Constitution) and supports (or at least refused to deny support) terrorist groups certainly could fit that definition.
We remark that the newspapers tell us now of the burning of Christian churches in Kashmir. (We’ll discount shooting people for the moment) and riotous demands for the death of the pastor. This is Islam, over and over and over. Dale may not live in Saudi Arabia or Kashmir, but he does live among Moslems who secretly or openly favor the jihadists.
As Robroy noted, no one is asking the government to violate the Constitution, but we are asking that the majority (who clearly do not want another another Islamic watering hole so near GZ) be listened to. Someplace along the line, the left has forgotten that a majority is the ground on which all democracy rests, and the majority here – as in ssm – is very clear. And ignored by the Cultural Elite. Larry