Jim Stillman
NevarThe value of our values.
August 13th 2010 00:29
Are we to jettison that which makes us great?
The essential issues: What is the essence of America? Are we are to surrender that which makes us a country worthy of our ideals in an effort to preserve the empty shell that remains? At the very birth of this country, Benjamin Franklin’s warning has meaning today, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
In recent weeks, protests have been heard against the possible construction of a Muslim 13-story mosque and community center to be built blocks from the site of the World Trade Center in New York. Admittedly, the WTC site is unique in American consciences; nonetheless, Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke eloquently defending the project as a symbol of America’s religious tolerance. There have also been two other proposed mosque location in New York, one in Sheephead Bay and the other on Staten Island. The protests in New York have been echoed elsewhere and from sources who have adopted the anti-Muslim theme as a political force from the Right, along with anti-immigration fervor and an evangelical view of an attack on Christianity.
In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Republican candidates have denounced plans for a large Muslim center proposed near a subdivision, and hundreds of protesters have turned out for a march and a county meeting. In late June, in Temecula, California, members of a local Tea Party group took dogs and picket signs to Friday prayers at a mosque that is seeking to build a new worship center on a nearby vacant lot. In Sheboygan, Wis., a few Christian ministers led a noisy fight against a Muslim group that sought permission to open a mosque in a former health food store bought by a Muslim doctor. All in all, there have been more than a half-dozen contested Muslim houses of worship within the last four months.
At one time, neighbors who did not want mosques in their backyards said their concerns were over traffic, parking and noise — the same reasons they might object to a church or a synagogue. In all of the recent conflicts, however, opponents have said their problem is Islam itself. They quote passages from the Koran and argue that even the most Americanized Muslim secretly wants to replace the Constitution with Islamic Shariah law. These local skirmishes make clear that there is now widespread debate about whether the best way to uphold America’s democratic values is to allow Muslims the same religious freedom enjoyed by other Americans, or reject believers of a faith that is perceived as a unique threat.
Take this speech:
Surely [Americans] have discernment enough to discover beneath them the cloven foot of this subtle foreign heresy. They will see that Islam is now what it has ever been, a system of the darkest political intrigue and despotism, cloaking itself to avoid attack under the sacred name of religion. They will be deeply impressed with the truth, that Islam is a political as well as a religious system; that in this respect it differs totally from all other sects, from all other forms of religion in the country.
Substitute “Popery” for “Islam”. This is a statement by Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph, in the 19th Century. In the case of Mr. Morse, the religion that was different from “all other sects, from all other forms of religion in the country” was Catholicism; it now is Islam.
Each and every religious group or ethnic immigrant people suffered the same prejudice and bigotry. It is the glory of America that we have always overcome the hate. Mayor Bloomberg noted the history of religious rejection followed by reconciliation and acceptance in New York City,
“….In the mid-1650s, the small Jewish community living in Lower Manhattan petitioned Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant for the right to build a synagogue - and they were turned down.
“In 1657, when Stuyvesant also prohibited Quakers from holding meetings, a group of non-Quakers in Queens signed the Flushing Remonstrance, a petition in defense of the right of Quakers and others to freely practice their religion. It was perhaps the first formal, political petition for religious freedom in the American colonies - and the organizer was thrown in jail and then banished from New Amsterdam.
“In the 1700s, even as religious freedom took hold in America, Catholics in New York were effectively prohibited from practicing their religion - and priests could be arrested. Largely as a result, the first Catholic parish in New York City was not established until the 1780's …”
The baser instincts of the electorate have been targeted and manipulated by politicians forever; this is not news. In the past, the populace has been intentionally frightened by suggestions that “they” are different and bent on destroying our country. Who are “They”? Liberals, Communists, Immigrants, take your pick! Today’s choice of the threat that will make us vote for the agitator is Muslim.
(The promotion of fear and prejudice by some on the far right and by some spokespersons for the Republican Party is worthy of more intense scrutiny and this will be the topic of a future essay.)
Perhaps what we need is a refresher civics course. If a Muslim (or Christian or Jew or Atheist, for that matter) breaks the law, arrest him or her and, upon conviction, toss the individual in jail. But we do not deny any citizen the right to pray, or not to pray, based on that citizen’s faith. We don’t restrict peaceful and sincere religious assembly based on the criminal behavior of individual members of the particular faith. We do not prevent the construction of Catholic churches because of Catholic criminals and murders; we do not restrict Jewish synagogues because of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, “Bugsy” Siegel, Meyer Lansky or other notorious members of Murder, Inc.
I read a letter in the newspaper today suggesting that in most, if not all, Muslim countries, Christian or Jewish Houses of Worship are not allowed or are limited. Other countries have restricted construction or expansion of mosques. Therefore, the author states, we should act accordingly.
That misses the point.
We’re different and that difference is that which makes us great. It is the difference that justifies our very existence as a nation. We have, at times, acted in a less than exemplary manner but eventually found our way.
It’s time.
The essential issues: What is the essence of America? Are we are to surrender that which makes us a country worthy of our ideals in an effort to preserve the empty shell that remains? At the very birth of this country, Benjamin Franklin’s warning has meaning today, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
In recent weeks, protests have been heard against the possible construction of a Muslim 13-story mosque and community center to be built blocks from the site of the World Trade Center in New York. Admittedly, the WTC site is unique in American consciences; nonetheless, Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke eloquently defending the project as a symbol of America’s religious tolerance. There have also been two other proposed mosque location in New York, one in Sheephead Bay and the other on Staten Island. The protests in New York have been echoed elsewhere and from sources who have adopted the anti-Muslim theme as a political force from the Right, along with anti-immigration fervor and an evangelical view of an attack on Christianity.
In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Republican candidates have denounced plans for a large Muslim center proposed near a subdivision, and hundreds of protesters have turned out for a march and a county meeting. In late June, in Temecula, California, members of a local Tea Party group took dogs and picket signs to Friday prayers at a mosque that is seeking to build a new worship center on a nearby vacant lot. In Sheboygan, Wis., a few Christian ministers led a noisy fight against a Muslim group that sought permission to open a mosque in a former health food store bought by a Muslim doctor. All in all, there have been more than a half-dozen contested Muslim houses of worship within the last four months.
At one time, neighbors who did not want mosques in their backyards said their concerns were over traffic, parking and noise — the same reasons they might object to a church or a synagogue. In all of the recent conflicts, however, opponents have said their problem is Islam itself. They quote passages from the Koran and argue that even the most Americanized Muslim secretly wants to replace the Constitution with Islamic Shariah law. These local skirmishes make clear that there is now widespread debate about whether the best way to uphold America’s democratic values is to allow Muslims the same religious freedom enjoyed by other Americans, or reject believers of a faith that is perceived as a unique threat.
Take this speech:
Surely [Americans] have discernment enough to discover beneath them the cloven foot of this subtle foreign heresy. They will see that Islam is now what it has ever been, a system of the darkest political intrigue and despotism, cloaking itself to avoid attack under the sacred name of religion. They will be deeply impressed with the truth, that Islam is a political as well as a religious system; that in this respect it differs totally from all other sects, from all other forms of religion in the country.
Substitute “Popery” for “Islam”. This is a statement by Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph, in the 19th Century. In the case of Mr. Morse, the religion that was different from “all other sects, from all other forms of religion in the country” was Catholicism; it now is Islam.
Each and every religious group or ethnic immigrant people suffered the same prejudice and bigotry. It is the glory of America that we have always overcome the hate. Mayor Bloomberg noted the history of religious rejection followed by reconciliation and acceptance in New York City,
“….In the mid-1650s, the small Jewish community living in Lower Manhattan petitioned Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant for the right to build a synagogue - and they were turned down.
“In 1657, when Stuyvesant also prohibited Quakers from holding meetings, a group of non-Quakers in Queens signed the Flushing Remonstrance, a petition in defense of the right of Quakers and others to freely practice their religion. It was perhaps the first formal, political petition for religious freedom in the American colonies - and the organizer was thrown in jail and then banished from New Amsterdam.
“In the 1700s, even as religious freedom took hold in America, Catholics in New York were effectively prohibited from practicing their religion - and priests could be arrested. Largely as a result, the first Catholic parish in New York City was not established until the 1780's …”
The baser instincts of the electorate have been targeted and manipulated by politicians forever; this is not news. In the past, the populace has been intentionally frightened by suggestions that “they” are different and bent on destroying our country. Who are “They”? Liberals, Communists, Immigrants, take your pick! Today’s choice of the threat that will make us vote for the agitator is Muslim.
(The promotion of fear and prejudice by some on the far right and by some spokespersons for the Republican Party is worthy of more intense scrutiny and this will be the topic of a future essay.)
Perhaps what we need is a refresher civics course. If a Muslim (or Christian or Jew or Atheist, for that matter) breaks the law, arrest him or her and, upon conviction, toss the individual in jail. But we do not deny any citizen the right to pray, or not to pray, based on that citizen’s faith. We don’t restrict peaceful and sincere religious assembly based on the criminal behavior of individual members of the particular faith. We do not prevent the construction of Catholic churches because of Catholic criminals and murders; we do not restrict Jewish synagogues because of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, “Bugsy” Siegel, Meyer Lansky or other notorious members of Murder, Inc.
I read a letter in the newspaper today suggesting that in most, if not all, Muslim countries, Christian or Jewish Houses of Worship are not allowed or are limited. Other countries have restricted construction or expansion of mosques. Therefore, the author states, we should act accordingly.
That misses the point.
We’re different and that difference is that which makes us great. It is the difference that justifies our very existence as a nation. We have, at times, acted in a less than exemplary manner but eventually found our way.
It’s time.
| 85 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Lester Caudill
Round Politics
Even the Governor has offered to help find alternate sites to build, it is their desire to do this to show their victory over the U.S.A. and nothing else, but many misguided liberals are to blind, or stupid to see, or maybe they are traitors.
Comment by Jim Stillman
But it’s what makes us worth protecting.
Comment by Lester Caudill
Round Politics
It's just the rights of the victims that need protecting, as they are not here to say what they feel since they were killed by followers of Islam. You see the First Amendment Rights were taken away by murderers.
They have offered alternatives sites, but they are unwilling to compromise. Compromise is what makes the world go round.
Comment by RickB_GA
I read this post on one of your other blogs and have been examining my own feelings in the area. I also have spent a lot of time recently working on “Live and let live” and keeping my nose out of other people’s business … neither of which really work well for the extreme left or right of this country’s politics and especially not for the current Administration or Congress. Life is much more peaceful if I don’t really worry about what you do as long as it does not affect me. So, I do find myself basically agreeing with you in principle. My history knowledge seems to remember our forefathers came here supposedly seeking relief from debtor’s prisons and freedom from religious persecution. More history seems to lead to the knowledge that politics through the ages have used people’s religious beliefs, their fear of God, to control the masses. And politics have used religion to engage in genocide in the politician’s quest for wealth, power and control. Examples would be the inquisitions in Europe, witch hunts in early America, eradication of the indigenous American populations because they were “savages” who just happened to be in control of the gold, copper and other valuables treasured by European nobility and early American “adventurers”.
But, I agree, a Mosque is no different than a Christian church or a Synagogue, at least physically. Unfortunately my life changed on 9/11/2001. I can’t get on a plane or walk through a market without being constantly vigilant of the possibility of a bomb going off. And the source of that concern was created by people who “worship” in Mosques. To me, that makes a Mosque a very scary place and the people that frequent it very scary people. And, I am quite suspicious of the motives of Islamist. I have not read their holy book and have no desire to do so. It is not my job to understand them. And, for the record, in the “world according to Rick”, the guy who executes a doctor because he performs abortions or rapes a child is just as evil as any idiot that flies a plane full of innocent people into a building or leaves a car bomb parked in a busy market, as are the folks who would inspire any of their type.
You are correct though Jim, under the laws of this country the Mosque has just as much right to be there and let its occupiers plan the next attack on America as does the Christian church’s right to be there and inspire the next abortion clinic executioner or the Catholic Church’s right be there to shield the next pedophile priest … and we can do it all in the name of God. A religious fundamentalist is dangerous to society, regardless of the religion he spews. I think the builders of the Mosque in New York are doing it where it will defile the memory of those that perished on 9/11 and doing it intentionally. I also believe they have long term goals regarding the mummification, pun intended, of the good old USA. But they are innocent until proven guilty and only time will do that. Until then, what happens in the Mosque stays in the Mosque … I hope. I disapprove but do not have the right to intervene until something happens.
By the way, check out Really Long Link to see just how low the liberal left will sink. The bottom is going to come when Obama looses in 2012. Then you are going to see riots in the streets fueled by Obama’s union goons. Remember, Obama was elected by the ghettos because of his race, not by the taxpayers, aka rednecks and tea partiers, because of his qualifications.
Comment by Jim Stillman
Comment by Jim Stillman