Freedom to Worship

As the Sabbath draws nigh, my mind yet continues to run on. I will use my return to blogging to assist me in this arena on a topic that has been much debated and beaten to an indiscernible, blood covered, rotting corpse. There is no win on this topic, I repeat NO WIN! But I’ll wade into the fray anyway as a way of helping me wind down for the evening. Now, if the title alone didn’t give you an idea of what I’m about to delve into, then you really, really need to read a news blog, google worship or call a friend. I’ll give you a hint, it starts with… Stupid. Yes, I just typed that and it’s true. Here’s why:

Who’s bright, marijuana induced idea was it to make a big deal of a new place of worship being built? I mean, really. Point the idiot out so we can properly aim our anger at the right party. This post is neither pro-mosque or no-mosque, it’s just curious why in the world it’s a debate we think we should be having. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to the now adult Elian Gonzalez. We all remember the story, right? If not, see the above choices once again and replace worship with kidnapping. Now, I know there are plenty of people out there who had issues with the way the situation ended up but you miss the big picture: with Elian’s mother dead and father very much alive, whose decision was it as to where he lived? Regardless of how you feel about where he lived, short of iron-clad proof of abuse (remember, the mother is dead so she is not able to weigh in), the decision to send Elian back to his father should have been swift and immediate action taken to this end. His father would then decide if he would pursue an avenue to have his child raised in America or to keep him. Instead of this, the right and normal thing, it tuned into a political circus that the US was bound to lose.

Feelings about Cuba aside, who made those people the deciders? How would they feel if someone told them they could not have their own child because he was now a politician/activists pawn to express their hatred for the place they lived in? How would you feel? My parents are divorced, have been for some time. I remember my senior class trip was a cruise to Bahamas, where my father lived, so he paid for the trip and arranged for me and a couple of friends to go to Atlantis to use their pools and have a tour. *side note: this is my MOST favorite Hotel and I dream of staying there one day* I was excited, told my teacher, my mom was happy for me, my friends were glad they didn’t have to pay for the tour, and all was right in the world! When we got to port, however, a random parent who was in attendance told me I could not get off the boat and leave with my father. Why? Because she didn’t have a note from my mom! First I was upset since EVERYONE knew I was excited to see my dad, and not once did a chaperone or teacher say to me I need to make sure I got a note. Second, who are you to tell me I can’t see my dad? Are you crazy?? Needless to say, we had a very good discussion. By good I mean, she told me I couldn’t and I said “You can’t stop me. Period, end of discussion.” I got off the boat, spent the day with my dad and returned that night. While in theory I understood her stand, high school students do get kidnapped, my point was this: it was no secret to anyone that my dad was meeting me, and my teacher (who was present yet acting like a cat had his tongue) knew it had been discussed with my mom.

So I have given you two stories that are a bit ambiguous and can be taken any way you like, but the bottom line is this: outside of safety/abuse claims, if one parent is not available the responsibility to the child falls directly and in a straight line to the next. My situation was more tenacious, but Elian’s was not. He should have been returned to his parent, period.

Fast forward to present day and the COMMUNITY CENTER with a Mosque inside THAT IS NOT AT GROUND ZERO, I REPEAT, NOT AT GROUND ZERO. For those of you that may be hard of hearing, maybe the bold letters will captivate. Even if it were, making a big deal does nothing but strengthen the terrorists claims that we are an intolerant, racist and hypocritical nation that wants to eat their babies. Okay maybe not the last part but the others! I’m not saying it’s a discussion we should have behind closed doors, and I’m not saying there isn’t a hurt there that maybe should have been considered. All I am saying is: it’s only a victory mosque if you fight against it. If no one knew it was being built, and no one said “no”, there would be no battle, no choosing of sides, no bickering and NO WINNER.

The foolishness of the argument is that it is a moot point, as was the argument around Elian going back to his father. The Constitution demands that we allow it, and even further it says it is not yours to allow or dis-allow. Did you catch that? NOT YOURS! This attitude that feeds fear, hate, and intolerance is what has run this country to ground since Sept 11, and I think the only people getting it right are Jon Stewart and Ron Paul, which is a sad state of affairs for us to be in. Ron Paul says it best with his assertion that the mosque opposition is ‘all about hate and Islamaphobia’, yet don’t think this means everyone opposed really sees it this way. There is a genuine pain and concern, just like there was in Elian’s case. But that does not change the Constitution, it just makes the discussion cloudy, like a child crying when she gets caught stealing. No one wants to punish her, after all she’s just a little girl and look she feels so bad already. She must be disciplined in some way, however real her tears are, because she was wrong.

Obama is right, and even those who hate him should get that. It’s not a feelings thing, it’s not about whether it was the wisest choice, and it’s not even about whether or not their plan was to sit in the Community Center and gloat at how they got a few blocks away from Ground Zero. It’s about the Constitution plain and simple, and no one in opposition has a leg to stand on.

That said, the only thing left to say is, “Where’s the crack addict that brought this up again?? What an IDIOT!!!!” I say this because now we have been divided, and now there are winners and losers. Now there will be a victory mosque, because we never had the right to oppose it in the first place. Now there may be violence as extremist CHRISTIANS begin to bomb, vandalize and attack the Community Center as they do abortion centers. All in the name of good. All in the name of safety, we continue to make ourselves more and more vulnerable to people who do not care about our tears.

Happy Sabbath.