I just finished a handwritten journal entry, and I am not sure if this is a wise topic to discuss, but hey - I am an American and I have the right to voice my opinion. First I think, if you have been reading any of my other posts, you know by now that I am a mother, wife and a Christian. Maybe if you read even further into the posts you might have even figured out I am what you might call a "Liberal Conservative". I am registered Republican but do not always follow party lines, and no, my bank account does not have many zeros on the end of it .... well sometimes it does, but never in the good way. Sometims, I even wonder what the heck they were thinking, and sometimes, (a rare occasion) I think hey maybe the other side has a point. (I did say rare occasion right?) I know "Liberal Conservative" is an oxymoron, but let me explain. I believe in God. I believe in the freedoms granted to me by God and the Constitution of the United States of America. I believe in family as they core to our society and in far too many cases that core is broken. I am open minded, and am willing to listen to different views and make decisions based on those. I believe you have the right to live your life as you choose to do so; it is your life and not mine. We have the same rights. Please, don't shove your lifestyle or beliefs in my face. I do not force you to look at mine; you choose to do so in coming here and reading, or by interacting with me in "the real world".

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Tonight, I overheard a discussion concerning the Mosque that is proposed to be built in Lower Manhattan, and thus near "Ground Zero". There are a few more things that you need to know about me before I continue with this blog. I am a native New Yorker. I spent many years traveling past those Twin Towers. As a child of long distance divorced parents, I new the trip back to NY was almost over when I could catch a glimpse of the towers and the Empire State Building, and the trip back home was starting when I saw them again. I can tell you first hand, that the Towers held a great iconic emotional value to many. As I traveled back to NY on 9/11/2002, to bury my brother, I wept for my personal loss, but I also wept as I looked east and was greeted not with the skyline welcome of my childhood. These same emotions came back to my in April 2009, when I once again went home to mourn my father's passing. Also, I am the step-sister to a 9/11 WTC Survivor - not that I say this to connect myself to the tragedy, because unfortunately, we are not close. I can, however, attest to what I have seen as well as heard from family members, as to how that day affected her. I will admit, my first reaction to building a 13 story Mosque within close proximity to "Ground Zero" was that of offense and indignation. I mean how dare they! (I know - real open minded of me right?) So, here I am over hearing this discussion and I over hear a question to the effect of "Well, would you want a strip club near there?" and the answer was something like "Well, when was the last time strippers blew up buildings?". I understand that this is a sensitive issue and it is easy to blame the whole religion of Islam for how a fundamentalist sect of the religion acted on that day. I stopped and reminded myself of two things.

First, Muslims did not attack us on 9/11. Fundamentalist Islamic extremists attacked us on 9/11.  I was watching one of the many "anniversary" 9/11 shows, but one story stuck in my mine. A Muslim man was working in the towers that day (I am sure there were more than one, but I am focusing on this man's story). He was lucky to actually evacuate the buildings, but only in time to find himself running from the collapse of the first building. As he was running in the mayhem, he tripped and fell. So many were running that it was difficult to get up and all of a sudden, another man's hand was reaching down toward him. The man reaching for him was an Orthodox Jew, and as he was reaching he was saying "Come on Brother, get up, we need to go." The two men ran together for part of the time but were separated.  This of course is just one of the many stories of great humanity and sense of oneness that came from that tragic day. It is these stories that bind us together. Remind us that, despite our differences, we are human. We are the same.

Second, the issue at hand is not a Mosque near "Ground Zero" being offensive to some, hurtful to others, and that something should be done to stop it. No, the issue at hand is how far do we as Americans want to step onto that slippery slope? No matter how you look at this, it is not an issue of political correctness or even a matter of etiquette. This is a legal issue and one that speaks to the very heard of our American values and freedoms. The Constitution and The Bill of Rights grants our basic legal freedoms. The truth of this matter is that any governing body denying only this establishment its existence solely on the fact that it is a Muslim Mosque is stepping knee deep into The First Amendment. Our government cannot make laws that affect our religion, the practice of and the right to gather peacefully. Is this not what those who want this building are asking for? Once we allow even the smallest leeway to infringe on Constitutional rights, we lose those rights entirely. I am do not like to generalize like this but in effect, it would be “You cannot build this Mosque here” today, and tomorrow it could be “You cannot build this church, synagogue, temple (insert the religious building you wish) here.”

Do I personally like the idea of the building of this particular Mosque – to be honest, no. However, ethically, I cannot oppose it either. I value my legally granted rights as a citizen of this country much more than I am an offended by and idea or if it is built, a building. My rights are worth so much more to me, and inevitably by standing by those rights, I am taking my stand against these terrorists who would love nothing more than to see our country crumble by tearing down it’s very own foundations.