Posted on 08/18/2010 6:30:21 AM PDT by detritus
It is hard to imagine that anything has gone unsaid about the so-called Ground Zero mosque, but an important point seems to be missing.
The mosque should be built precisely because we don't like the idea very much. We don't need constitutional protections to be agreeable, after all.
This point surpasses even all the obvious reasons for allowing the mosque, principally that there's no law against it. Precluding any such law, we let people worship when and where they please. That it hurts some people's feelings is, well, irrelevant in a nation of laws. And, really, don't we want to keep it that way?...
...[T]he more compelling point is that mosque opponents may lose by winning. Radical Muslims have set cities afire because their feelings were hurt. When a Muslim murdered filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam, it was because his feelings were hurt. Ditto the Muslims who rioted about cartoons depicting the image of Muhammad and sent frightened doodlers into hiding...
This is why plans for the mosque near Ground Zero should be allowed to proceed, if that's what these Muslims want. We teach tolerance by being tolerant. We can't insist that our freedom of speech allows us to draw cartoons or produce plays that Muslims find offensive and then demand that they be more sensitive to our feelings....
Nobody ever said freedom would be easy. We are challenged every day to reconcile what is allowable and what is acceptable. Compromise, though sometimes maddening, is part of the bargain. We let the Ku Klux Klan march, not because we agree with them but because they have a right to display their hideous ignorance.
Ultimately, when sensitivity becomes a cudgel against lawful expressions of speech or religious belief--or disbelief--we all lose.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
We can post baby pictures if you’d like. I have some on the camera that I could download.
Think Bam Bam!
Went to Maui, then went to the Aria in Lost Wages Nevada and now we are back to the wife at Santa Monica College as a student and me putting in two extremely long days at USC helping out a Professor and his law office.
My wife and I actually only get four six hour breaks a week and the rest of the time we work our other gig mostly 24-7.
We are happy to be OK with this economy, so far what we are doing has kept us isolated from the recession/depression.
We are in the Hills of Beverly and to be honest, the only business doing well are the moving vans and rental/sales sign businesses.
Frankenbaby has a case of two-ness, but he’s only 15 months old. Sounds like you had some fun trips! We’re going to the beach for a week on Saturday; Seaman Anoreth’s coming back from Seattle, hopefully with a zillion pictures of her adventures in Asia.
Der Prinz works for a very successful extremely-low-end retail firm, so once again he’s expecting a substantial bonus and blue skies ahead. We refinanced our house to a 15-year note at the same payment as the previous 30-year loan.
And we have a bumper crop of jalapeno and habanero peppers, so watch for the news stories about people breathing fire in North Carolina!
I’m glad to hear there are good things happening out there.
Traveling is good for the economy, plus it is great to get away.
We’re here!
We moved so fast I left some chocolate chip cookies cooling on the top of the stove. My bad.
This is the September 2010 Undead Thread.
Join the threadjacking!
Hi!
Aw, shoot.
Howdy, Strangler!
Looks like you’ve been keeping pretty busy! Good for you!
And we would love an updated piccie of the Bam-Bam Baby!
Yah. My comfort food got left behind. *sigh*
I will do that maybe after his upcoming 2nd B-day.
Just feel like I have no time for anything anymore.
I do the occasional post and run here, and that is about it.
Ps: Also had Obama pass in front of our digs the other week some 40 feet away.
I think that caused many people’s noses to bleed being that close to The One!
My baby waved the dirty finger.
And I’m sure the finger needed no prompting! Smart kid!!
:o])
Thanks, TC! Just what I wanted! A red X in a box!!
I like your baby!
Tasty and filling! It’s a dish of chocolate chip cookies on my screen; try copying the url into a new window.
Hiya, Hottie!
And with that, I’m off to bed. I didn’t sleep much last night, what with the events of yesterday morning, so I’m hoping I can make up for it tonight and at least wake up feeling like a real person.
‘Night, all!
The dinner sounded like more fun to me, but then what do I know about hi-tech stuff. :-)
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