To begin, let me state my stance on the "Ground Zero Mosque" or "Park51". I am in full support of it. As for my main reason, here it is:
1. They have a permit.
They went through the appropriate channels to obtain a permit for construction, which means that it's legal.
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On a strict scale, this would be fine. However, the rise of several debatable issues lead me to address them as well.
1. We should honor the families who died on 9/11
I agree completely with this, but it doesn't pertain to the issue. Just like the pastor from Florida. If he had a permit to burn any holy book, then on a technicality he should be allowed to under the protection of the First Amendment. It may be in bad taste, but that doesn't mean it's illegal. Not to mention the fact that families of both sides of the argument disagree with each other on this issue, which leads to the question of who should we side with? If we side with the families that support the Mosque/Park51, we won't side with the families that oppose the Mosque/Park51. If we side with the families that oppose the Mosque/Park51, we won't side with the families that support the Mosque/Park51. Either way, it's superficial to say that we should respect the families of those who died on 9/11. The only way I would consider this is if ALL families would want or wouldn't want the Mosque/Park51 to be built.
2. The funding of the Mosque/Park51 is suspicious/lead by terrorists.
I've only heard this once or twice, but I'll address it anyway. This is, in my opinion, a red herring. One reason is that I don't really think that the people who oppose the Mosque/Park51 would have cared whether it was funded by terrorists or regular people; I think they would rant regardless. Another reason is that I wouldn't care who's building what with what money. If, hypothetically, the KKK wanted to build something right next door to my apartment, a red flag would raise in my mind. If the city allows it, then I'll side with the city. The main point is that they have a permit; therefore, they have a legal right to build it, regardless of the funding. However, if you really want to see who's financing the project, be my guest as I could care less.
3. It's two blocks down.
I'll use an extreme point to showcase my view. Assume that 2 blocks is not enough. Ok, then what about 3? If not, how about 5? If not, how about 10? If not, how about out of NYC? If not, how about out of NY?(That was rhetorical and exaggerative. I'm trying to say that "close" and "far" are subjective terms.) To me, the only test on closeness for me is if was 0 blocks down; that is,if it's right on the WTC. And honestly, I'd oppose any religious organization trying to build it right on the WTC. 1 block difference is enough for me.
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And now for attacks on people (which may or may not be ad hominem):
1. Those who feel that Arizona should be able to pass their law, but that the Mosque/Park51 should not be build.
Honestly, blatant hypocrisy is amidst. These people believe that Arizona has the right to pass an immigration law (that generally belongs to the federal government), but believe that New York City should not let people build something.
My personal take on is is that Arizona has the right to pass the law, even though I disagree with it. There are also some portions which may be considered unconstitutional, but other than that I support Arizona for putting it's citizen's interest, even if there are dire consequences. For the Mosque/Park51, these same people who champion more local government are bashing New York City for allowing the Mosque/Park51 to be built. If you don't see the connection, please post in the comments and I'll elaborate more. I would bash Obama on immigration reform, but that's another topic.
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I may add more to this, but this is all I can think of now.
You have an interesting argument but I'll give you some of my thoughts, and I hope you'll expand on your previous comment on my blog about making illegal drugs legal.
ReplyDelete1. A greek orthadox church was one of the buildings destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. Never heard of it? I never knew either until my dad informed me about how messed up this issue is. The conregation has been pushing for a replacement church for nine years and theres still no deal to rebuild. Its extremely disrespectful to even bring up the idea of building this mosque until the church is restored. I am completely for tolerance and understanding, but I understand all the intolerance that has surfaced. Extremists pull a double standard. They show their hate to everyone who doesn't agree with them, sometimes this includes those who follow even a slight variation of the same religion, but when others hate on them they cry to the media about how intolerant people are.
2. There is also a double standard on those who support the Arizona imigration law. They only want legal legal americans doing jobs that are extremely stranious but will be very upset when relatively cheap services like yardwork become very expensive.
Hi I like your blog. It was interesting, engaging, and informative. I also like many of the subjects you’re talking about. Look, I am all for a new mosque being built in NYC but, don’t you think its just a little too close to Ground Zero? I’m all for religious freedom but I personally thinks its too close to a spot were religious extremists attacked a local landmark and symbol of Financial prowess. If it wasn’t so close to Ground Zero there wouldn’t be all this hubbub about it. I know under the First Amendment we have religious freedom but I think its too close to a sacred spot. There still finding bones of people on roofs blocks away. Would I be able to visit the Temple Mount?? Or Mecca??
ReplyDeleteHello
ReplyDeleteI believe that your blog is very informative. I do not think a new mosque should be built that close to Ground Zero. Don’t get me wrong I believe that all religious should have the right to as they wish, but at the same time some people haven’t getting over what happened in New York not too long ago. I also think they should give it 5 to 10 more years, and maybe people will not care as much. That would make it easy for them to put up the Mosque.
Wow thanks for comments. Sorry I haven't responded in a while. I've been slightly busy, but I'll respond to these comments.
ReplyDelete1. I remember reading about it in comments on a mass media site. I was quite surprised too when I first read about it. Personally, I believe that it should be allowed to be built. The only thing stopping them is Port Authority. As for your second comment, I don't know what "legal legal" means, but I have a crazy understanding of what would happen if we had more immigrants. Increase in labor supply, decrease in cost of labor, assuming demand remains the same. Decrease in cost of labor is a decrease in cost of prices, because labor cost is factored into what we pay for things.
2. I've read those comments elsewhere too, and the problem is that there is no consensus on where to draw the line. If there is a definitive line, then sure. But I haven't read any suggestions on how far these buildings should be.
3. That's fine, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. We all want what's best for NY. As your your 5-10 years comment, I'll go on an off tangent. Last semester, my philosophy professor told us to watch The Aristocrats(2005). In it, Gilber Gottfried made a 9/11 joke, then an aristocrats joke. For the link, "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGVL_reIuJM"
In my opinion, it shows that people have unusual tastes in humor. If you watch the video, it shows one person crying "too soon" to the 9/11 joke. Next thing you know, these same people are laughing about vulgar things that one would never do. I would say that it is quite hard to judge people's tastes, as I prefer a balance between sensitivity and equality. If a church wanted to build there too, it would be fine by me. Just as long as they go through the proper requirements.
In addition to my previous comment, the links that I googled up for #1 are:
ReplyDelete"http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/nyregion/24greek.html"
or, if you're one of those that think NYTimes is a liberal piece of dog poop:
"http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/18/leaders-disappointed-government-declares-deal-rebuild-ground-zero-church-dead/"
I consider myself center-left, and I honestly prefer NYT over Fox News, but whatever people prefer is whatever they want.