NORMAN — Editor, The Transcript:
I was today reminded that the so called, “Ground Zero,” mosque is still being debated nationally. NPR did an excellent job summarizing the arguments for and against the construction of the proposed community center. They correctly pointed out that the area where the center is being built, houses an adult video store, an off track betting parlor and other businesses that fall short of being sacred. Also mentioned was a mosque just two blocks away that is frequently filled to overflowing, and the community center would have a room for prayer for those who are now praying on the sidewalk. NPR also reported that some family members of those killed in the 9-11 attack believe the mosque is an insult to the memory of those in the attack on the Trade Towers.
Not mentioned are the 7 million innocent Americans who have been and are being vilified because of their religion. A few have stood up and correctly reminded people that, in this country, we embrace freedom of religion, but no one has publicly recognized the distrust and subsequent suffering the actions of 17 Saudi citizen have caused.
Missing from the dialogue is a call for compassion.
When I was a boy, compassion and its companion, hospitality, were illustrated in movies and taught in Sunday School. In cowboy movies (which I still love to watch), good guys refused to surrender strangers of all stripes to the bad guys, even under the threat of death. This act re-enforced the Sunday School stories about God's wrath when communities ignored edicts on hospitality. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because two Angels were taken from the sanctuary offered by Lot.
The story of a community's destruction for its lack of compassion and failure to provide hospitality is as valid today as when it was written. Our country was built on the notion of tolerance and it is a cornerstone of our democracy. And we should recognize that those who preach hatred, promote distrust and sow the seeds of intolerance are the enemies of our civilization.
This political posturing is designed as a way to stop us, as a nation, from supporting our Muslim communities, as that community reaffirms its American identity. The bad guys are standing in the shadows and demanding that we surrender our core value of religious tolerance. Our answer will define us as heroes or cowards, and it will shape our future.
HAL SPAKE
Norman
