"Who, among my conservative Republican friends would disagree with the idea that government should play no role in decisions regarding one's choice of religious faith or place of pursuing that faith?"
I asked myself that question as President Obama spoke from the White House in reference to the controversy over whether or not a mosque should be permitted near the site of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. I could not think of even one in the right wing of the GOP who would disagree with that. Surely, there is not one who calls himself an American who would disagree.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances.”
President Obama spoke as a citizen as well as our President because it is his duty to defend the Constitution. He spoke because he must speak against anyone who would twist the Constitution to one’s own political purpose. He spoke because we must stand for religious tolerance or nothing at all.
Some on the left believe his remarks amounted to a “gift to the Republican Party.” I disagree. You and I have an obligation to make sure his remarks do not have legs in a political sense. Sure, the Becks and Limburgers will have fun with his remarks in the short run. But they are wrong on this issue…and it is up to real patriots to tell them so.
Admittedly, the emotional scar in lower Manhattan is still quite visible, and deep. The wisest decision would have been to wait, delay the announcement of a decision on the mosque until cooler heads everywhere could prevail. I don't like the idea of the mosque so close to the WTC but I also recognize the principle of religious freedom upon which this country was founded.
The President is right. Very right. He could not state this sacred principle of our heritage more clearly; nor could I.
2 comments:
This whole matter, prior to President Obama's comments, has been set up by the media -- virtually all the media, I believe -- to be controversial. Even now, weeks into the coverage, the headlines tend to be about a mosque at ground zero. In fact, the planned facility is neither. Yes it is NEAR ground zero, as are any number of other gathering places, but it is an Islamic center with a prayer room as only one of the components.
How often have we heard cries against Muslim leaders for failing to speak out against extremists (even though many of them have and it only takes one internet search to come up with sturdy examples)? Now, when a moderate Islamic group with the longstanding mission of building cultural bridges takes a step that they intend as a tool for promoting cross-cultural understanding, that's not good enough either. Clearly the issue for some is sensitivity regarding our national tragedy on September 11, but I think the resistance is largely and maybe primarily based in fear and ignorance which are so easily morphed into hatred.
Thanks for your comment. The 24/7 media beast is always hungry and must be fed regularly. Much of what is wrong in America today is due to a near universal knee jerk reaction to events by journalistic jerks who depend on fear and ignorance to attract viewers/listeners. It's not likely to get better in the short term.
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