Really? A Mosque at Ground Zero?

When I think of both the Statue of Liberty, and the Twin Towers that once stood tall above New York Harbor, they remind me of what happened on 9/11. Many men and women, who could have remained safe and alive by staying outside, rushed into burning buildings to rescue ALL of the people inside, regardless of citizenship, race or religion. Their message of selflessness, generosity and love for all of humanity in their final act will have been in vain, unless we continue to defend the rights of ALL citizens under our Constitution and Bill of Rights, so that we may all remain free. If we forget that for one moment, we too will be lost.

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” ~Abraham Lincoln

All the lies being spread about President Obama’s non-citizenship, his being a member of the Muslim faith, as well as the building of a “Mosque at Ground Zero” are all about the fires of xenophobia, bigotry and hate projected and burned onto others. Remember when Hitler began requiring Jews to carry identity cards, then he made them wear yellow stars, then he had them captured, put in concentration camps, tattood with numbers, and eventually killed? All because they were different and made to be the scapegoats for the political and economic situation of the time. Good and bad things, both, begin with the first small steps. We consciously choose which path to take.

Irrational beliefs and denial of reality are a part of fanaticism. Fear-mongering and irresponsible “journalism” are stoking both these fires and their underlying fanaticism. The facts are that President Obama is a US citizen, is a Christian, and some people, who also happen to be Muslim, want to build a community center 2 blocks AWAY FROM Ground Zero, from which it can't even be seen.

Read our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They apply to ALL citizens, not just the select few who look, believe and act like “us.”

United States Constitution: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article VI – …This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Bill of Rights, Amendment I – Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

I wonder how people would feel if we substituted just two words, Christian Church, for Islamic Mosque? Extremists were responsible for the horrific events on 9/11, not all members of the Islamic faith.

Addendum on 7/23/11. The horrific attacks in Norway were allegedly perpetrated by an extremist who was an avowed Fundamentalist Christian. Should the Norwegian people now prohibit the building of any Christian churches or Christian community centers anywhere near the sites of those attacks on the grounds that Christians were behind the attacks?