What Exactly is the Debate?

The American political landscape is a place I usually try to avoid in conversation with anyone outside my comfort zone. Meaning, I tend to discuss issues with like-minded citizens who share a liberal view of how society should function. This doesn't necessarily have to include fellow Democrats to the exclusion of others. There are Libertarians and Republicans whose views are similar to mine and have opinions on which we can agree. I know on which paths to tread with these individuals and can make my point while still being open-minded and empathetic to their views. I believe that this reflects my attitude toward most people and their ideas. I truly do fancy myself as someone who tries to see both sides to things, as long as their ideas are well thought out and come to a logical conclusion.

Having said this, the "well thought out" and "logical conclusion" pieces of this narrative keep me from being able to understand and empathize with those who were protesting the construction of an Islamic center near Ground Zero in NYC on Sunday. I do want to say that this characterization is going to be generalized and I'm sure it doesn't pertain to all protesters, but watch this video to see why this generalization is pretty accurate.

These citizens claims to believe that erecting an Islamic center so close to Ground Zero flies in the face of those who lost their lives in the Trade Center attacks. This argument could be understood. Those who attacked us on 9/11 were Islamic extremists, and are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. I can understand how that could inflame those who are worried about the memories of loved ones who were killed. Again, I don't have to agree to be able to understand where they are coming from.

I'm sure that there are people who have well-founded concerns about this project; however, this is not the primary narrative of many of these protesters. They are upset that there are Muslims in the US. Period. They do not believe that they have the right to build their places of worship where they would like to, or, for that matter, be able to practice their religion at all. Now, this is where I really start to take issue with their reasons for protesting.

These citizens claim to hold tightly to the constitution, but walk all over it at the same time. At these protests you are likely to see signs about and hear comments made that "We need to protect our country's values." What exactly are the values that these protesters are trying to protect? Property rights? Freedom of religion? They justify their actions by claiming their freedom to assemble and freedom of speech, but conveniently forget the Rights that they are protesting against.

I'm not a constitutional scholar and am not trying to claim that I am, but in the same right, I can see when the dots are and are not connected. This faction has undue control over our political system. Those who are wild and scream the loudest, tend to get the most attention, even when their ideals do not match the majority of the country. The sentiments of those protesters account for only 10% or less of our nation. Which is discouraging given that they are deciding what is on the agenda for our politicians.

Gay marriage? It goes against the sanctity of Marriage itself. Or does it. The divorce rate in this country is between 40% and 60% depending on which statistic you look at. So that doesn't seem to be anything special. The only argument for Marriage as a special union is within the Christian church, but what about the separation of Church and State? We adhere to this separation in order to keep Muslim girls from wearing head scarves in schools, but we have to leave "Under God" in the pledge and keep Gay couples from having the same civil rights as heterosexual couples. Civil rights that come from the government, not religious rights that come to someone through a church. This is an important distinction since people use religion to keep others from basic rights that are due them from the government.

Immigration? Foreign policy? Gun rights? Health care? I won't elaborate on all issues, but I will say that when we claim to be to the land of the free and proudly display our Bill of Rights, we need to extend those freedoms and rights to all citizens. And it's because we are all citizens that we have a right to be protected by our constitution. Not just when it reinforces our ethno-centric views of "white, protestant, evangelic America". We need to take back the political narrative of the country to express the inclusive, tolerant views of the majority of our citizens. We owe it to ourselves.