Quote:
I am not publicly expressing my opinion on whether or not it should be built. I am simply saying that there is not a day that goes by that our enemies don’t try to geode us in with propaganda. I for one will not give them the floor. I have stood with the blood of my fallen brothers on my uniform in the Middle East. I along with the rest of the world watched as (the mostly Saudi) terrorists killed thousands on our soil. I took an oath to defend the constitution, but I have felt the anger that can rage inside a person touched by these events and I will say that just because you have the right to do something doesn’t make it right to do.
I will leave it at that
|
You have every right to your opinion, and I very much appreciate the service that you and your comrades have given this nation. However, I have a gold star on my combat action ribbon, so I think I have at least made a down payment for my own opinion.
Nobody is asking anyone to give the floor to our enemies., but does one ignore what one might be able to learn from them? Consider it as intel. Zabihullah's claim is one dot on a map. The FBI's counter-terrorism guy is another dot. The obvious anger of Muslim-Americans being persecuted is yet another dot. Thinking people have to try to connect the dots and do the best thing for the USA, as a whole.
I do not use the word "persecuted" lightly. Muslims are under attack nationwide. Mosque expansions have met prejudicial resistance in Tennessee, California, Michigan, and other places where there is no immediate claim to the hurt of 9/11. In Murfreesboro, TN, a Muslim community has had a presence for 30 years, and a mosque on today's site for 15 years. They want a modest expansion and (some) people there are going ballistic about terrorists. A couple of days ago someone set fire to construction equipment.
In Temecula, California, another "mega-mosque" (as the bigots are calling modest expansions now) met similar opposition. The Islamic community has been there for years, meeting in a warehouse, and the proposed 25,000 sq ft facility would be adjacent to two other churches. Protesters didn't bother to disguise their bigotry, shouting, "No more mosques in America" through bullhorns. One woman, Zorina Bennett, openly expressed outright bigotry to the news media. She was quoted as saying "They [Muslims] don’t fit in; they don’t belong in this country.”
In Florida, the "pastor" of a "church" curiously named the "Dove World Outreach Center", is getting his 15 minutes of fame (in trade for a lifetime in hell) by inviting "Christians" to a "Burn the Quran Day" on 9/11/2010. Other churches are promoting a counter-event to this loon, but which links do you think will be posted on websites promoting violent Jihad?
Actions against peaceful American citizens by religious bigots and racists have the potential for inflaming an entire culture of people, the
vast majority of whom are a lot less radical than a few Christians I know personally.
It can sometimes be very difficult to follow the Constitution. It is all too easy for people to slip into anger and rage against "others". If we give in to those feelings, as was done in WWII by putting Japanese-Americans into internment camps, the Constitution loses, and we lose another little piece of our civility as a nation.
Park 51 in NYC is unique. There is no question the facility is fully legal under the law. People should take whatever position they want on this facility, with the understanding that our enemies are licking their chops over the thought of the US showing anti-Islam prejudice.
As for the bigotry, prejudice, and hate crimes being committed around the United States, clear thinking people should simply not put up with it. When bigotry is expressed openly, US citizens with moral character should stand with those being persecuted.
President Eisenhower said the following at the opening of the Islamic Center on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington in 1957.
“And I should like to assure you, my Islamic friends,” the president said, “that under the American Constitution, under American tradition, and in American hearts, this Center, this place of worship, is just as welcome as could be a similar edifice of any other religion. Indeed, America would fight with her whole strength for your right to have here your own church and worship according to your own conscience. This concept is indeed a part of America, and without that concept we would be something else than what we are.”
I'll leave it at that.