May The Force Be With Us
On Friday the 13th of August, Associated Press reporter Erica Werner wrote that Obama had weighed in “forcefully” on the building of a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.
“A nation built on religious freedom must allow it,” he declared.
By Saturday, that word “forcefully” was in the headline of every major newspaper in the United States. By Sunday, Obama was forcefully trying to backtrack on his words. He was only defending their right to build it, he claimed, not the wisdom of building it. However, he refrained from questioning their wisdom, too.
New York’s Gov. Paterson even offered to make deal for another site, which the developers flatly refused, as expected. With every effort at reconciling their right to worship with the sensitivities of the families of 9/11 victimes, the remove another plank from that bridge they claim they’re trying to build.
Proponents of the Ground Zero Mosque argue that there’s a strip club three blocks away that could be considered an offense to the hallowed ground. Heck, there’s a bar right next door to the mosque. In fact, there are bars all around Lower Manhattan. Makes you wonder why any Muslim would want to worship there.
We think of Ground Zero only as the main perimeter of 12th Ave., Liberty, Church, and Vesey Streets. But as the planes plowed into the buildings and broke apart, they spread carnage for some blocks. As has already been pointed out, a piece of plane crashed into that building now occupied by the mosque. It should have qualified for Ground Zero status.
But the proponents argue, buildings are going up right on top of Ground Zero, what is being called “hallowed ground.” Three office buildings, I believe, the Freedom Tower, and the museum, along with the memorials.
Personally, I would have said don’t do it – don’t build anything there except the memorial. But New York’s can-do, never-quit spirit couldn’t reconcile itself to allowing so much valuable real estate to go to waste nor surrender the battle to anti-capitalist forces; they were determined to rebuild, particularly the Freedom Tower.
The Freedom Tower. It was renamed to something like One World Trade Center, or some such address. Why? Because it offended the sensibilities of people opposed to freedom, apparently. The name was too controversial; too inflammatory.
Under pressure, the developers of the mosque renamed their center Park 51, an anonymous, innocuous sounding street after someone revealed the etymology and history of Cordoba. Had someone not revealed the truth, it would still be called the Cordoba House, while we Americans would be robbed of the satisfaction of visiting the Freedom Tower.
Just what is it Obama expected the majority of Americans, who are opposed to the location, at least, of this mosque, to do? “Force” them to be silent? “Force” them to accept what they can’t change? Wasn’t he the candidate who campaigned on the platform of “change?”
Americans suspect the Muslims of using our Constitution as a shield, to force us to accept their presence. No one would care how they worship save for the fact that they have a notable doctrine of world dominance. Americans fear them with good reason: acceptance of Islam is compulsory in countries where they constitute the majority. Just ask the Danish cartoonist who drew a cartoon of Mohammed with a bomb on his head.
But then we’re transforming into a country where you must accept government health insurance without question. You must eat the foods the government proscribes. Children can no longer bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school. They must wear helmets to ride their bicycles. Soon, we’ll be forced to drive whatever vehicles the government dictates.
You can open up a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, and a strip club three blocks away, but you can’t build a Wal-Mart. (That wouldn’t be terribly advisable in Lower Manhattan.) The mosque they’ll allow; the rebuilding of St. Nicholas’ church, the city threw roadblocks in front of, casting the blame back on the developers for demanding too much leeway, for wanting to build too big a church.
The mosque builders claim a modest proposal, but their plans include a restaurant, an auditorium, religious prayer rooms for various faiths, and a swimming pool(!?). All in that little storefront space? Such a project would take up an entire city block – and probably will.
It’s so nice that Obama has suddenly discovered the Constitution. It's so "American" of him. Now he’s concerned with property rights, is he? He wasn’t so concerned when he was redistributing our wealth, encouraging people to buy homes they couldn’t afford, and punishing those who could.
But Americans are at last proving themselves a force to be reckoned with. May The Force be with Us.
“A nation built on religious freedom must allow it,” he declared.
By Saturday, that word “forcefully” was in the headline of every major newspaper in the United States. By Sunday, Obama was forcefully trying to backtrack on his words. He was only defending their right to build it, he claimed, not the wisdom of building it. However, he refrained from questioning their wisdom, too.
New York’s Gov. Paterson even offered to make deal for another site, which the developers flatly refused, as expected. With every effort at reconciling their right to worship with the sensitivities of the families of 9/11 victimes, the remove another plank from that bridge they claim they’re trying to build.
Proponents of the Ground Zero Mosque argue that there’s a strip club three blocks away that could be considered an offense to the hallowed ground. Heck, there’s a bar right next door to the mosque. In fact, there are bars all around Lower Manhattan. Makes you wonder why any Muslim would want to worship there.
We think of Ground Zero only as the main perimeter of 12th Ave., Liberty, Church, and Vesey Streets. But as the planes plowed into the buildings and broke apart, they spread carnage for some blocks. As has already been pointed out, a piece of plane crashed into that building now occupied by the mosque. It should have qualified for Ground Zero status.
But the proponents argue, buildings are going up right on top of Ground Zero, what is being called “hallowed ground.” Three office buildings, I believe, the Freedom Tower, and the museum, along with the memorials.
Personally, I would have said don’t do it – don’t build anything there except the memorial. But New York’s can-do, never-quit spirit couldn’t reconcile itself to allowing so much valuable real estate to go to waste nor surrender the battle to anti-capitalist forces; they were determined to rebuild, particularly the Freedom Tower.
The Freedom Tower. It was renamed to something like One World Trade Center, or some such address. Why? Because it offended the sensibilities of people opposed to freedom, apparently. The name was too controversial; too inflammatory.
Under pressure, the developers of the mosque renamed their center Park 51, an anonymous, innocuous sounding street after someone revealed the etymology and history of Cordoba. Had someone not revealed the truth, it would still be called the Cordoba House, while we Americans would be robbed of the satisfaction of visiting the Freedom Tower.
Just what is it Obama expected the majority of Americans, who are opposed to the location, at least, of this mosque, to do? “Force” them to be silent? “Force” them to accept what they can’t change? Wasn’t he the candidate who campaigned on the platform of “change?”
Americans suspect the Muslims of using our Constitution as a shield, to force us to accept their presence. No one would care how they worship save for the fact that they have a notable doctrine of world dominance. Americans fear them with good reason: acceptance of Islam is compulsory in countries where they constitute the majority. Just ask the Danish cartoonist who drew a cartoon of Mohammed with a bomb on his head.
But then we’re transforming into a country where you must accept government health insurance without question. You must eat the foods the government proscribes. Children can no longer bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school. They must wear helmets to ride their bicycles. Soon, we’ll be forced to drive whatever vehicles the government dictates.
You can open up a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, and a strip club three blocks away, but you can’t build a Wal-Mart. (That wouldn’t be terribly advisable in Lower Manhattan.) The mosque they’ll allow; the rebuilding of St. Nicholas’ church, the city threw roadblocks in front of, casting the blame back on the developers for demanding too much leeway, for wanting to build too big a church.
The mosque builders claim a modest proposal, but their plans include a restaurant, an auditorium, religious prayer rooms for various faiths, and a swimming pool(!?). All in that little storefront space? Such a project would take up an entire city block – and probably will.
It’s so nice that Obama has suddenly discovered the Constitution. It's so "American" of him. Now he’s concerned with property rights, is he? He wasn’t so concerned when he was redistributing our wealth, encouraging people to buy homes they couldn’t afford, and punishing those who could.
But Americans are at last proving themselves a force to be reckoned with. May The Force be with Us.
posted by Belle | 4:52 PM
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