Coexist

We've all seen this bumper sticker -

At least I have. A lot. I'm in Austin, after all. The liberal mecca for Texas. I've always wanted one and I just ordered one tonight, so the graphic is paid for.

Any way, all the talk about the "Ground Zero Mosque" has gotten to me. The final straw was when I saw a friend of a friend post this on Facebook:

If you think that putting up a mosque 600 ft. from ground zero and having the inauguration on the anniversary of 9/11/11 is immoral, inhumane and a complete lack of respect for the memories of all that perished there, on that day and their survivors ~ That politicians are doing a grave injustice to the fallen heroes, their families and all the people of New York City THEN COPY AND PASTE THIS TO YOUR WALL.

I did not copy and paste that onto my wall and moved this person into my Limited Profile group. Meaning, they know get to see virtually zilch about me. Then I find out that Sen. Harry Reid has decided to join the religious bigotry and come out against the center.

It makes no sense to me. Didn't we establish with the First Amendment the idea of Freedom of, and Freedom from, Religion?

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.

Equating all adherents to Islam to terrorists makes as much sense to me as saying all Christians are part of the Religious Right. When we paint all followers of Mohammed  (Peace be upon him) as radical terrorists out to destroy America and all followers of Christ has gay hating, intolerant bigots we do both groups of people a grave injustice. Yes. There are Muslims whose most fervent wish is to blow up infidels. Yes. There are Christianists whose most fervent wish is to see all homosexuals dead. Neither represent the true face of their respective faiths, and I, for one, am sick of being lumped with the crazies.

Not only are we talking a clear violation of the First Amendment but most of the facts, and I use that term loosely, spouted by the right are just plain wrong. The community center is not a mosque. It is not located at Ground Zero or across the street from it and even within sight of it. It's two blocks away.

Much has been said about this "mosque" being an insult to the victims families. What about those victims that were Muslims?  One was even a NYPD cadet, Mohammad Salman Hamdani. Does the grief of these families mean less somehow than that of the non-Muslim families?

When we give into this irrational hate of all things Muslim, we lose. Osama bin Laden and his terrorists will win the war on terror they began on September 11, 2001.

We must be better than this.

h/t to The Village Voice and Politicsusa.