"People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both" Benjamin Franklin
As the debate over "the Mosque at Ground Zero" heats up, how more relevant could old Ben Franklin be? The same argument is being framed in numerous ways, with numerous motivation and from all sides. It's pretty clear. NO ONE wants a Mosque built even close to the site where the Twin Towers fell. So many motivations are ascribed, most villainous. Why else would the barbarous Muslims build a temple at the location where so many Americans died for no less a crime than going to work on 9/11/2001? It is a sign of defiance right? A sign of conquest right? I sign that the ONLY goal worth pursuing for a Muslim is world domination? Who knows...any or all of those could be coming into play. I doubt it. But who knows....
Here is what I DO know. The First Amendment of our beloved Constitution affords ALL citizens the right to worship as they see fit, where they see fit, and how they see fit, as long as the practices of their religion are not otherwise unlawful. THEN, it is ONLY those practices that are outlawed, NOT the religion. As an example, were a religion to espouse polygamy, the practice of that religion would be acceptable, but the practice of marrying more than one woman would be unacceptable and punishable under existing law in ALL 50 States.
The FEAR here is that the Cordoba Initiative will harbor terrorists, and be used as the epicenter of more terror attacks on US soil, the goal of which is the domination of US culture by Muslim belief. Could this be the case? Maybe. Is the POTENTIAL for criminal activity (except for flight from existing incarceration) cause to suspend one's rights under the Constitution? I think not. The Fifth Amendment protects us from incarceration except by indictment of a Grand Jury, and for a crime already committed.
So what's going on here? Scroll back and you will see that I have made a case, consistently, that a move is afoot to strip you of your liberties, not by armed insurrection, but by convincing you that your "temporary security" is at risk, and that the provisions contained in the Constitution are impeding protecting you. Forces are at hand that are plotting to strip you of even your most basic liberties, the liberties to think and believe what you want, to express those beliefs openly in verbal form (Freedom of Speech), written form (Freedom of the Press), and in the "contemplative" form, prayer (Freedom of Religion).
And what equally concerns me is that false information is being offered from BOTH sides of the American political perspective, or certainly inflammatory rhetoric and activity. One the one hand, we have those of us who consider ourselves Conservatives. "We" want strong military action. 9/11 was perpetrated by Muslims who stated they were fighting a "Holy War"..."a Jihad" against the "Infidels"...the Christians. I was debating him, on Twitter, about Islam being "anti-Christian". He cited Surah 9:5 as evidence that the Koran ordered the killing of Christians. Here's the problem. In NO translation does the word "Christian" occur. In differing translations there is an order to kill "infidels" or "pagans" (depending on the translation.) Here's the OTHER pesky little fact. In Surah 9:4, just one paragraph before, "infidel" or "pagan" are defined....as people who worship multiple gods. What's more, in Surah 9:6, Muslims are told that, even if an infidel asks to be spared, he must be afforded so, and that the Muslim sparing him must attempt to make him accept that one God. If he DOESN'T accept the teaching, he then must receive double protection, both from the Muslims, AND from his own people. It is actually under this religious law that the Pushtan tribesmen spared and protected Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL who survived a horrible ambush that killed all his teammates.( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/10/AR2007061001492.html )
Then, I pick up Time Magazine and see the face of a Muslim woman whose nose was brutally cut off, allegedly based on some barbarian's belief, ascribed to Islamic belief. Right in the middle of the "the Mosque at Ground Zero" debate. Huh...Did the editorial board have choices? Were there OTHER stories about Muslims? Maybe they could have chosen to write a major story about a "summer camp" run by a Muslim cleric, and designed to lead young Muslims AWAY from terrorism? ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10900478 ) Could they not tell the story of the camp (Seeds of Peace) in Otisfield, Maine that is bringing Christians, Jews and Muslim children together to learn each others culture and return to their own as "Seeds" to spread the word of tolerance? ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeds_of_Peace ) The timing of this article does NOTHING but inflame already existing anger and misperception.
Finally, our President offers words in support of the Mosque. I am NO FAN of Barack Obama. I believe he is one of the selfsame Communists who are assaulting our Constitutional capitalist was of life. But his words were correct. Yet, they fell in an abyss of hatred that has gone unconfronted and mistakenly fanned by an administration that has mishandled conflict from its first day in office. I understand he walks a political tightrope on this issue, because of his name....
In our history, we have made this mistake in other ways, at other times. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, we rounded up all citizens of Japanese descent and put them in "interment camps". We imprisoned them...for no other crime than having parents who were Japanese. It took over 40 years, and a man named Ronald Reagan to apologize to our proud Japanese citizens...Ron Reagan understood that Americans don't do that..
Folks, I'm not asking you not to hate 9/11. I'd be the first to remind you and the first to spend my heard earned tax money to fight the at any location with any manner at any cost. But I'd like NOT to fight a religion. I'd like to fight political entities who hijack religion for murderous purposes. In doing so, we truly make ourselves free....in NOT doing so, we mortgage both our liberties and our safety, just as Ben Franklin warned us. We are being led down the road of giving up our First Amendment rights willingly, because we want protection from terror. We will end up with neither,
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