I’ll take these ones for you, Mr. President
PREFACE
I’ll openly admit that I am not as familiar with other religions as I’d like to be. I was raised Catholic and currently consider myself to be agnostic. I believe far too many people live willfully ignorant of other beliefs, because it contradicts (and may make them question) their own. Given my attempts to be more open-minded about other religions, I feel guilty not knowing more about them. It’s not exactly hard for me to learn about other people, since I’m surrounded by diversity and wi-fi. So I’m trying to gain more perspective, given the current religious debate. This entry represents where I’m at now and not necessarily who I will be for the rest of my life.
My feelings on religion are simplified in this manner: I think it’s good if someone’s religious beliefs are used to justify words and actions that promote the well-being of society in general; I think it’s bad if those beliefs are used to promote violence, impede social progression, and deny other people their beliefs. To avoid being as intolerant as the people I condemn, I try not to let one person’s beliefs cloud my opinion of ALL PEOPLE within an established religion. I’ve met and know of good Catholics (who live by the positive messages in the Bible and look at it from a modern standpoint) and bad Catholics (who are overly-judgmental, hypocritical, and use their god to justify hatred). I’ve also met good, open-minded athiests and smug, intolerant ones. Furthermore, I understand that while hundreds of people may gather in service, they may have vast and subtle differences in their views, many of which may never be discussed or known.
AND NOW, THE REASON I STARTED WRITING
The reason I wrote all of that stuff above is because of this: Sarah Palin has so kindly addressed a number of question to President Obama on her Twitter page. I can’t say whether or not he took the time to answer them…I mean, he is the President and all. Given the number of accusations that he doesn’t have his priorities straight, it seems wrong of Sarah Palin to try and distract the President from his duties via Twitter(s). So, I’ll try to answer them as best I can.
Here we go:
“Mr. President, should they or shouldn’t they build a Muslim mosque steps away from where radical Islamists killed 3000 people?Your position?”
Yes, they should build a mosque steps (hundreds, by the way) away from where radical Islamists killed 3000 people. Why? Because I haven’t seen enough credible evidence to believe they hold the same “radical” beliefs which could lead them towards committing violence against America. If anything, I believe building a mosque near Ground Zero would show that our nation does not let fear and intolerance prevent us from honoring our First Amendment. I also believe that allowing a mosque to be built near Ground Zero would actually honor the victims of 9/11, as it shows the world that America’s willing and able to move on beyond a tragedy that was committed by terrorists and their radical beliefs, not the ones held by over a BILLION people. Next questions please.
“We all know that they have the right to do it, but should they? This is not above your pay grade.”
Yes, they should. As I implied earlier, it would show a positive message of acceptance to people of many faiths across all countries in the world. It would uphold the American values you speak so highly of, yet never really defend when it’s necessary to do so. Also, let’s not talk about “pay” Mrs. “quit public service to become a celebrity.”
By the way: Who’s “we”? Because I still seem to see lots of people on TV exercising their first amendment rights in an attempt to deny the first amendment rights of others. I have also seen plans to hold a “Koran burning” on 9/11 by people who were upset by footage of people “dancing in the streets” after the attacks on 9/11. Doesn’t it seem “inappropriate,” “intolerant,” and “insensitive” (all words which have been used to describe proposed mosque, some of them by you, Mrs. Palin) to burn the holy book of over a billion people because a fraction of those people (radicals, remember?) have committed attacks against us? Don’t true Islamic beliefs contradict the actions of these terrorists, thereby dissociating them in many ways from the people we currently condemn? Wouldn’t it benefit America more to show religious tolerance in the face of terror? Or should we just exercise our own means of terror and hatred, despite knowing how painful it is to be victims?
How about spending more time convincing those Americans of freedom of religion (from the Constitution, which you claim to protect) and less time worrying about ONE religious building in ONE city in this country. I know it represents a larger issue to people, but it’s causing them to ignore other issues, like blatant bigotry in America.
“Mr. President, did you encourage the mosque dvlprs to accept Gov. Paterson’s offer of land if they move away from hallowed ground @ GZero?”
I don’t what the President encouraged or discouraged, but I’ll say this: the closer, the better. My answer to the next question will more elaborate on this.
While I don’t know all the specific details of this offer, I’ll give a general response to it:
I don’t think any bribes (that’s how I perceive this) should be accepted to move the mosque elsewhere, especially from the government. While I support people’s religious freedom, I’m also fond of a certain level of separation between church and state. Our establishment should protect religion freedom, but I don’t believe it should offer land and/or money, which would come at the expense of people (read: taxpayers) on both sides of this debate. Of course this debate spans all religions and goes well beyond the scope of this current debate, so I’ll digress.
“Mr. President, why are they so set on marking an area w/ mosque steps from what you described, in agreement with many, as “hallowed ground”?”
When I first heard this story, I actually thought it was being built ON Ground Zero and was disappointed when I found out it wasn’t. Why? Because this hallowed ground we still speak of is still, after all these years, very barren. We haven’t done enough to honor the victims in this area. We haven’t done enough to show that we’re moving beyond this tragedy. There should be far more to represent why it is hallowed ground. I’m more upset by our lack of progress than a single place of worship existing nearby.
If we want to honor and respect the victims of 9/11, we should be providing aid to the survivors (which some politicians opposed), building on Ground Zero (which should have already occurred on a much greater scale), and increasing our acceptance of others in this country (which happened to some extent, although that spirit has since dissipated). These are important issues.
CONCLUSION
Lastly, I would like to ask some questions: If all Muslims held the same, specific beliefs as the terrorists…wouldn’t we be under attack by over a billion people now? Or if not a billion, certainly we would be under attack more than we currently are…right? It seems to me like my encounters with Muslims have been quite peaceful. Is it possible that many of them, much like many Americans of varying faiths and beliefs, are just trying to live peaceful lives? I think so.
The terrorists were not discerning when they attacked America. By doing so, they killed innocent people from many different nations and various backgrounds. The war on terror itself has also claimed thousands of innocent lives. Maybe we should choose our targets a little more carefully before more innocent people get hurt. We should also ask ourselves this: Through our words and actions, how many terrorist are we eliminating and how many terrorists are we capable of creating?
