The Black and White Situation of the Ground Zero Mosque

Laws = Black and White Thinking

There are very few black and white situations in the world, even though the human instinct is to make most, if not all, situations fit into a binary vision of the world.  

I'm a good person (or I am not)
I'm a failure (or I'm not)

These are common situations that upon closer examination have a variety of positions; one can be "good" in some settings and "bad" other places or a person can succeed at her career but not be able to make friends. Most situations in the modern world have a spectrum of options and interpretations, not just ON or OFF.  And one of the challenges thinking people face is to explore and examine the variety of possibilities in a given situation before making a decision.  

That said, there are situations that truly are ALL or NOTHING:

I'm pregnant (or I'm not)
She's dead (or alive)
I believe in the First Amendment (or I don't)

There is a case currently in the papers that is all or nothing in nature--religious freedom. We are either a haven for unencumbered religious diversity or we are not.  That is how principles work and the principle involved here, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, is very clear.


"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

There are very few black and white situations in the world, even though the human instinct is to make most, if not all, situations fit into a binary vision of the world.  

I'm a good person (or I am not)
I'm a failure (or I'm not)

All of these are common situations that actually have a variety of positions; one can be "good" in some settings and "bad" elsewhere or a person can succeed at her career but not be able to make friends. Most situations in the modern world have a spectrum of options and interpretations, not just ON or OFF.  And one of the challenges thinking people face is to discover a situation's reality and examine a variety of options if they exist.  

That said, there are situations that truly are ON or OFF:

I'm pregnant (or I'm not)
She's dead (or alive)
I believe in the First Amendment (or I don't)

There is a case currently in the papers that is all or nothing in nature--religious freedom. We are either a haven for unencumbered religious diversity or we are not.  That is how principles work and the principle involved here, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, is very clear:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

That's it folks. No footnotes. No exceptions. Congress cannot prohibit religion in the US. A group of Muslims want to build a mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero. They have filed the proper paperwork and apparently have the wherewithal to pay for it. The issue seems pretty black and white to me. I hope the New York City council has the wisdom to stick to their guns and allow this project to take place. We live in a county that was founded on a basic set of principles. Let's not let Right Wing bullies like Palin and Ginggrich make us forget that very black and white principal upon which we are founded.
         
That's it folks. No footnotes. No exceptions. The law cannot prohibit the practice of religion in the United States. A group of Muslums want to build a mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero. They have filed the proper paperwork and apparently have the wherewithal to pay for it. The issue seems pretty black and white to me--doing anything less would be in violation of one of the central principles this nation was founded on.

I hope the New York City council has the wisdom to stick to their guns and allow this project to take place. We live in a county that was founded on a basic set of principles. Let's not let Right Wing bullies like Palin and Gingrich make us forget that very black and white principal upon which we are founded.