I am a child of the modern age, so I'm going to start off with a quote from one of my favorite movies. It's actually a rom-com, not a political drama, but clearly, the writer(s) have a soft spot for freedom of expression.
"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free"."
The America President, 1995.
Yes, Michael Dougals's character was a (fictitious) liberal democratic president, but are these words really partisan? Isn't the freedom he's describing at the very core of what it means to be American?
I want to know why it is controversial that a Muslim organization wants to build a community center in Manhattan 2 blocks from one corner of Ground Zero. It may upset people, but is it really debatable that they have the right to do so?
I don't think it matters that groups of religious leaders (of various faiths) in NYC support the center (which will include a Mosque/Prayer Room inside). Even if they all disagreed, it wouldn't change the fact that they have the right to build it.
And are we so narrow-minded that we think those 19 zealots represent the average Muslim? Wouldn't it be better to show the Muslim world that Osama bin Laden and those like him (who hate us) are wrong, that we are not their enemy?
We seem to have some folks who treat the entire religion like a cancer, and its followers like pariah. If we declare ourselves to be the enemy of Islam, haven't we made a terrorist into a prophet?
Hate comes out of fear. The first step to ending hate is to stop acting out of fear (and eventually our fear will recede). We pride ourselves on being free and open and democratic. Let's not let fear make us into petty, racist theocrats. Instead, let's be brave in the face of what we know to be a real threat, and let the Islamic world know that even though some of their number may hate us, (and some of our number may hate them), as a nation, we are their friend.
We will never end terrorism with guns and bombs, because fighting and destruction only proves that they are, in fact, our enemies. If we end terrorism, it will be with
courage and a hand of friendship. Are we committed enough to the end of terrorism to be this brave?
I LOVE that quote! I love that movie. I love that faux President!!! <3
ReplyDeleteWhat I believe people, including myself, have a hard time with is that had it not been for their (admittedly skewed version of the) the Muslim faith, 9/11 would never have happened. I don’t think that fact can be entirely ignored. Religion was a key player in this drama, however mal-adjusted that version of Islam was.
For me, it’s not about the fact that they were specifically “Muslim.” If extremist Catholics (like those in Ireland) or extremist Christians (like those that bomb abortion clinics) had done this deed, I would be JUST as appalled by THEIR faith trying to erect a cathedral or church so close to the spot of the destruction that, at least on some level, was predicated by the teaching of some form of their faith.
Were the terrorists “average Muslims?” NO. But the SOLE MOTIVATION for those 19 men was the teaching of an extreme version of THAT FAITH; therefore, building this Mosque just seems exceptionally provocative to me. I just don't believe the role of religion in the acts of 9/11 can or should be neutralized by the fact that there are millions of good Muslim people who wouldn't have done that.
NO those 19 do not “represent” the Muslim faith by any means. They are a tiny handful. But, on some level, however skewed, Islam must hold some tid-bit of responsibility. Those men would have NEVER committed those acts had they not been religious zealots. Somehow, along the way, no one said to them, “No, this is NOT what Islam is about!”
In the same way, the existence of good Christians doesn't negate the accountability of abortion bombers that claim Christianity as their reason. To some degree, Christianity is responsible for these individuals, especially when they don’t disavow themselves from those acts. When you create this kind of judgmental attitude, feed the hate, you should reap the consequence of it. In my opinion, all religions should suffer the consequence of the responsibility of their most extreme members.
For me, the specific religion is completely irrelevant: it’s the unchecked radicalism of Faith that is ultimately responsible (“unchecked” being the key).
Back to the point--do they have a legal RIGHT to build a Mosque there? Of course they do. I would never challenge their legal right to do so. Is it appropriate, considering the background of the circumstance? I don’t believe so. Just my two cents!
(Nice post!!)
An aside here on the "America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship..." comment.
ReplyDeleteSo, you like that quote, do you? Not bad, but it's missing some factors.
How about acknowledging the man who makes what you consider to be an obscene amount of money and telling him he has the same basic right to every dollar he earns as you do to every dollar you earn? How about telling a restaurant owner that he has the right to have a smoking section in HIS restaurant if he likes (even if you personally despise smoking and won't go there yourself)? How about telling the guy who disagrees with government-run health care that he should not have his money forced from him to support it? How about empathizing with a human life that is still in its mother's womb and coming to grip with what it really means to respect the right to life? How about questioning what it should really take to become a citizen in a country where citizenship is such an advanced concept?
It's true, America isn't easy--perhaps in more ways than some care to admit. :)