Today’s award is a group award. It goes to all of those self-righteous “patriots” who oppose the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque.” You know who you are (locally we have Alfalfa and Curly from WGOP and nationally we have Abraham Foxman of the American Jewish Committee and Charles Krauthammer).
I traded emails with my brother today. He had sent out Krauthammer’s column from the Washington Post, pleading that this mosque be built somewhere else because “common decency” demanded it. He compared building of what is actually a community center, one that has been in lower Manhattan for many years, to building something at either Gettysburg or Auschwitz. Talk about hyperbole. Many teabaggers (Alfalfa, Curly, Beck, Palin, et al) have compared building this mosque to celebrating the deaths at the Twin Towers. I call FAIL!
Here are some facts that a friend related today:
- The community center, which is 15 stories and contains a mosque, a swimming pool, classrooms, workout facitilities and more, and is patterned after many Jewish Community Centers in Manhattan, is about 2 blocks from “Ground Zero.” It is not on the “hallowed ground” anymore than the Starbucks that is 2 blocks away is on “hallowed ground.”
- Many people in the Islamic community worked in the Twin Towers and also lost their lives on 9/11 and a few people on the committee that is building this community center are also on the 9/11 Memorial Committee. Note that they already own the property.
- There is nothing tying these Muslims to terrorists or even fundamentalist Islam.
- The mosque will only be part of the community center and merely replaces a mosque that is only another block away (3 blocks from Ground Zero).
- If this were a Jewish Community Center or even a Gay Community Center, no one would be having a problem.
If you allow your fear, intolerance, etc., to guide your beliefs (are you listening teabaggers?) and not our Constitution, or the Torah, or the Bible or whatever belief system/holy book you follow, then you have let the extremists win by denying the freedom of religion that is the cornerstone of our democracy.
The only reason these “patriots” are opposing this is pure, vile, hatred. That, and using it as a fundraising tool. Because of this, those who oppose building this mosque are our Asshats of the day.