“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Politicians from the left, right, and the center are opposing the location of a mosque at Ground Zero. And, while I understand the significance of the religion and the location involved, I can’t help but wonder what lesson this teaches our children.
When I was growing up, we learned all about discrimination, segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and how we, as Americans, have moved forward. I was always taught we are all Americans, regardless of what we look like on the outside or where (and what) we worship. But that’s not the lesson children across the nation are learning from the representatives their parents elected to lead our nation.
According to an article by Caitlin Huey in U.S. News, “The First Amendment protects freedom of religion," said Reid's spokesman in a statement. "Senator Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else." Reid is the highest ranking Democrat in the Senate and faces a close and contentious reelection bid against Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle in Nevada.” Full article: http://bit.ly/d9n68X
While I understand the reasoning behind the stance politicians across the United States are taking, does this not teach our children discrimination? Also, is it fair to blame an entire religion for something a couple of extremists did? What happened to America being “the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
It takes courage, faith in others, and bravery to build trust and move forward. In my opinion, we need to work together with all Americans in order to combat terrorism, not alienate a certain religion or ethnicity. There is strength in numbers, but we won’t have that strength if we continue dividing Americans against Americans.
Thank you for putting into words something that I have struggled to articulate! The first amendment of the Constitution is very clear...what we are teaching our children about this issue, is not...
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with the First Amendment. It has to do with what is righ and decent. Opposing the GZ mosque does not make me a racist or prone to discrimination at all. It is important to teach children to be decent and use common sense, not to wistfully say, "why cant we all just get along?" the Utopian fantasy that if we are just tolerant and nice to everyone everything will be great is a naive notion that has been disproven many times throughout history.
ReplyDeleteIt is absurd to think that opposition to the mosque is discriminatory. Build it two miles uptown - nobody would care.