The Mad Moderate 08/20/10
As we get closer to the Mid-Term elections partisanship and character assassination may be expected to ramp up significantly. Our political ruling class in this day and age cannot be expected to focus on issues of actual significance lest they be exposed as completely inept at the nuts and bolts of governance and simply the power-hungry self-absorbed criminals most of them are. Like clockwork they bring us the "debate" over the "ground zero mosque."
I have resisted commenting on this subject up till this point as I see it for what it is, a diversion, a pseudo-event. Its only true purpose is to scramble the news cycle and keep us arguing amongst each other rather than devoting time to critical analysis of those that seek to keep their jobs in November and those that hope to take those same jobs; the candidates.
Unfortunately, this issue continues to gain traction and our lemming-like electorate is in full "oh, look at the pretty divisive thing" mode, so let's talk about it, if only to weigh in that we might then attempt to move on.
the facts as of this writing:
Where is this thing supposed to be built?
The location is to be 45-51 Park Place
Who owns the land?
http://www.newmediajournal.us/culture_wars/0809.htm
coat factory There are two pieces of real estate that make up the proposed site that the old Burlington Coat Factory building currently occupies. One parcel is owned by Sharif El-Gamal's Soho Properties, http://www.sohoproperties.com/ but the other is owned by New York utility Con-Edison who leased it to El-Gamal. He wishes to exercise his option to buy and Con-Ed is currently appraising it to determine its value. Despite the protestations of people like Representative Peter King,
http://peteking.house.gov/
a contract is a contract and Con-Ed has stated "We are following our legal obligations under the lease. We will not allow other considerations to enter into this transaction,"
What is the Cordoba Initiative?
http://www.cordobainitiative.org/
The name is not a coincidence. Cordoba is not just an ugly Chrysler car from the 70's,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsg97bxuJnc
it's a significant town in Spain but without the "rich Corinthian leather".
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba.htm
It changed hands for hundreds of years between the Romans, the Muslim Moors, and Christians.
cordoba mosque Indeed, as many on the anti-build side of the argument correctly suggest, the Muslims did erect a mosque on the site of a Christian church after they conquered Cordoba.
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/mosque.htm
It was significant, being considered second only to Kaaba in size. What our vocal friends neglect to mention is, that Christian church was, like so many are, built on the site of a former pagan temple. Indeed claiming the holy sites of your opposition as a spoil is not strictly a Muslim thing, it's a religion thing. Another fact the anti-build movement omits is that, true to form, when Cordoba was reconquered in 1236 the Christians reclaimed it and to this day it remains a Christian church.
Who is Feisal Abdul Rauf?
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/indi ... indid=2462
Sarah Palin weighed-in and that's about as much comment as she rates; look her up if her opinion means anything to you.
Charles Krauthammer, a syndicated columnist, is among many who have called the Area "Hallowed Ground". Hallowed ground? Let's check out the neighborhood, shall we?
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/n ... s/19590651
An Off Track Betting Parlor. Nothing honors the memory of 9-11 like a good gamb|ing establishment. Luckily there is one within a stone's throw. I'm so proud. Put $100.00 on teabiscuit or the terrorists win. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/nyreg ... ritic.html
A Lingerie shop and peep show, no wait, they have an American flag on it so that makes it PATRIOTIC lingerie. C'mon girls, show your love of freedom with a crotchless leather teddie! Are you saluting or is it cold in here? http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/200 ... gerie.html
And a personal favorite of mine, a strip club, New York Dolls! http://www.nydollsclub.com/ (NSFW) What could be more American than women taking off their clothes for cash!
Wait, a less prestigious strip club The Pussycat Lounge http://www.pussycatlounge.com/ (NSFW) is in the area too. I like that there is competition; it exemplifies our capitalist ideals. I suspect that the "invisible hand" you are likely to get here is not the one Adam Smith was talking about, though.
I find it hard to take seriously those that ascribe sanctity to a place and seek to block a Mosque when some of the baser parts of our nature are celebrated in the same area. So where is "the moral courage to denounce it." that you call for us to have, Newt, when people are getting lapdances two blocks away from where thousands of Americans were brutally killed? I have to assume this is the American way of life Newt is seeking to defend.
Yes, Newt Gingrich has seen fit to make this an issue releasing several statements on this Mosque, the most recent being this little gem. In a failed attempt to draw a metaphorical argument. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/201 ... round.html
"Nazis don't have the right to put up a sign next to the holocaust museum in Washington,"
Actually Newt, that's not true. If they adhere to relevant laws they can. You have to Love the Nazi comment. Most political rhetoric eventually embraces that hyperbolic favorite. It pains me that as highly an influential politician as you are and certain to make a Presidential bid in 2012 you either don't know or refuse to acknowledge such a simple fact. You don't, though, and your earlier statement on your website where you argue there should be No Mosque at Ground Zero is similarly full of error.
http://www.newt.org/newt-direct/no-mosque-ground-zero
It was a very well written statement but as passionate and eloquent as your words are they have no legal or Constitutional merit.
Let's start with
"There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia. The time for double standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while they demand our weakness and submission is over."
This is America, Newt. We stand for religious freedom here. That other countries do not is not relevant to how WE as AMERICANS respect and defend OUR principles. By this model, Newt and myopic persons of his ilk would seek to emulate those oppressive countries by degenerating our freedom in the same way as those he criticizes. Next we will try to justify torture because...oh yeah, that's right. This is ironic as he says
"Building this structure on the edge of the battlefield created by radical Islamists is not a celebration of religious pluralism and mutual tolerance; it is a political statement of shocking arrogance and hypocrisy."
No Newt, Hypocricy is saying this.
"....this is a test of our commitment to religious liberty. It is a test to see if we have the resolve to face down an ideology that aims to destroy religious liberty in America, and every other freedom we hold dear."
and combating that ideology by erasing sections of our Constitution, undermining those same freedoms you claim to wish to defend. So we protect ourselves from religious discrimination by doing it ourselves? Shocking. Maybe you should read your own policy statement sometime. http://www.newt.org/issues/religious-liberty
Newt does bring up an interesting point , though, without meaning to.
"We have not been able to rebuild the World Trade Center in nine years. Now we are being told a 13 story, $100 million megamosque will be built within a year overlooking the site of the most devastating surprise attack in American history."
This is a very poignant statement Mr. Gingrich, but not for the reason you think. Indeed, WHY is there no progress on the WTC site this long after the attack? America should not be angry that this dubious group seeks to build a trophy building here, but rather that it will not be erected in the shadow of a gleaming monument of our undaunted resolve soaring triumphantly into the sky. Why is that not there after nine years? I suggest that nothing is standing there because there is nothing to champion. Those Americans that were ruthlessly killed deserve better than what has been done, or rather not done on that site. As Americans seriously argue to tear up our constitutional freedoms based upon emotional and fallacious arguments could there be any more fitting symbol than a vacant lot populated with empty promises of a vapid people, us.
promise forgotten
9/11 was arguably the most significant moment in recent American history. I am old enough to remember it and I did watch the attack live on TV. I tuned in after the first plane hit. Within moments, as I was still trying to wrap my head around the smoking tower, the second plane hit spewing flames and debris down to the street. I watched in horror as people leapt to their deaths from the burning buildings. Hearing of the attack on the Pentagon, I called home. My Mother worked in Alexandria Virginia and heard the rumble of the plane crashing into the building a few miles away. It's very real for me.
As stunned and shell-shocked as we all were, though, nobody can truly understand the pain of the victims families. None of us can appreciate the sacrifices of the first responders and those that wrestled the last plane away from the terrorists causing it to crash in that Pennsylvania field. We should never forget that day. We should never allow those heroes to fade into the abyss of time. We shouldn't, but we have. For a very short time after the attacks we forgot our petty differences and came together. People in countries around the world stood with us in solidarity, "today, we are all Americans." I have never experienced such a time before, and certainly not since. We squandered that good will earned in the blood of of thousands of victims, but that is the subject for many other commentaries. The point is, we stopped caring, the WTC site is still bare, and real news again competes with "Dr. Laura said the N word!" We should be ashamed. promise forgotten
Until the Cordoba Initiative decided to build this "cultural center" nobody cared anymore. The events of 9/11 had lost their meaning and were just used as a tool to meticulously erode our liberties. Rahm Emannuel once said, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."
http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PU ... 45271.html
That is not a mentality exclusive to him, nor to the current administration, definitely not the previous one that first took advantage of it. It's not a Democrat or Republican idea, it's what powerful people use to erode the very freedoms they are supposed to be protecting. The Patriot Act, warrantless wire taps, the way every facet of our privacy is invaded all in the name of "fighting the terrorists," is a red herring. It's about control. Both parties play this fear game, both parties seek to divide and shackle us. This recent scramble to muster outrage at the construction of this project is just a means to an end. The naked attempt to undermine the first amendment under the guise of "freedom" simply shows just how emboldened the enemies of freedom truly are. I am not speaking about the terrorists, they can only attack us from the outside. The destruction of our very ideological core by partisan ideologues, however, can do us more damage than any hijacked airplane. That kind of attack happens from within.
I agree that the Cordoba Initiative seeks to build a symbol on this site. I do not believe, based upon the man involved, the things he says, the company he keeps, that he has positive intentions. It is intended to be a sign of conquest, a marketing tool in the fundamentalist Islamic world. Unlike those that feel this way and strive to stop its construction, though, I think it will send a dual message.
Those that seek to destroy us and what we stand for will see it as a victory, but we were never going to change their minds anyway so why does that matter? The Constitution provides another right in the second amendment to help deal with them and I believe in and exercise that right effectively as well. No, the message we need to focus on is to the rest of the world, to people of moderate Muslim practice, those of other faiths, and those of no faith, of those within our country and those without.
This isn't about what some whack-job imams think, it's about what we think. This is about what our friends think, about what people who seek to know us think. This is about the fundamental question of whether we can walk our own talk.
Americans like to throw our ideals in other people's faces, tell them all the things we stand for and how that makes us better than them. While I lament the methods, and would like to see the message less holier-than-thou, I agree that our ideas of individual freedom and rule of law are indeed our greatest gift to the world.
The first amendment to the constitution clearly guarantees the right of religion, speech, and peaceable assembly. There is no footnote that says "unless we don't like them." The problem with upholding an ideal is you have to be consistent. To this point, nothing about this project is illegal. As people investigate, perhaps something in the funding may provide a reason to stop it but for the moment no laws have been broken, it's legitimate. That many people find it offensive is true, that their emotional reaction to it is real, justified, and powerful is certain. It is not, however, grounds to disregard the Constitutional right to build it. We have to protect the right in all applicable cases regardless of personal feelings or we establish a dangerous precedent. We stand for all freedoms enumerated or we stand for none.
I have stood in the presence of the Constitution, it is humbling and makes one swell with pride to be an American. This simple document, so brief for the purpose intended, every word fought-over, none superfluous, has served as a shining beacon to guide us, a benchmark in a world of shifting ideologies and interests. It is, however, just a piece of paper. When we no longer believe in it, it ceases to have any power and becomes meaningless.
This is what this is about, not terrorists, not the crisis du jour, and not some stuffed shirt plucking at your fears for political gain. It's about whether we allow ourselves to cast the ideas that have made this country great asunder because they are inconvenient or whether we do what is right, not because it is easy, but because it is hard.
No zealot can destroy what America is. No extremist can destroy who we are. No despot or movement either religious or secular can kill an idea. Only we can do that. As Americans, we are the keepers of what we stand for, nobody else. It isn't our weapons that our enemies fear, it's our ideas. American culture has conquered more territory than all the armies that have ever gone into battle under our flag. This is a war of ideas we are fighting. The bombs and bullets are just devices in that war and the least effective at that.
If we allow two-faced politicians to undermine what we stand for we will cease to be a beacon for the rest of the world. The beliefs that America once stood for will no longer have weight and as has so often been asserted "the terrorists win." We have a debt owed to those that preceded us to keep the flame burning. Unfortunately, that very flame demands that we allow those that do not believe in it to bask in its warmth. It expects that we let them sit with us even though they clutch a dagger and seek to do us harm. To do anything less makes us hypocrites and the flame will die. They will not have doused it, they cannot, only we can do that.
What will you do?
Regardless of your stance on this Mosque, please take a moment to donate to any of the charities involved with the 9/11 attacks. Money, time, emotional support, whatever you can give to the victims of this heinous crime will be worthwhile and honor their sacrifice more than harsh words could.
http://www.familiesofseptember11.org/donate.aspx
http://www.answerthecall.org/donate
Well-done, sir.
