To Mosque or Not to Mosque

Photo by James Estrin/The New York Times 

Warning: I went a little political here.

I try not to watch the local news on TV. Every time I do watch I become depressed when I see stories about people being murdered, burglarized, and kidnapped. I try to focus more of my attention on national and statewide news which is usually a bit less dramatic and doesn't make me think twice about going for a walk around the neighborhood with the kids without taking a tazer with me. However, lately the national news has been a bit frustrating as well. Many of the stories I have read about recently have centered around the idea that our president is in fact a Muslim which in many people's eyes would explain why he insinuated that he would support a mosque near the Ground Zero spot. 

The thing that amazes me the most about this story isn't that a large slice of the country believes Obama is Muslim. What surprises me the most is the fact that to so many people this would even matter. I don't know about anyone else but I wouldn't have cared if John McCain was a sun-worshipping polygamist, who goes to temple on the side. If I thought he could lead the country in the right direction I would want him in office. I do not understand the fascination with the religious background of our president. 

And don't even get me started on whether he is actually an american citizen by birth.

As you might have guessed I do not see anything wrong with a mosque near the Ground Zero site. I do not think that it would be like "spitting in the face of all the families who lost loved ones" as some have said. I just don't see it that way. I feel that we live in a country that grants us religious freedom to worship when and where we please. Now whether the builders of the mosque would be willing to put up with the backlash that something like this would surely bring about is anybody's guess.

Comments

[Nancy Jane York]

I agree totally with you Matt.

[Carole Martinson]

You have my agreement --- you just have to convince the other 90 million, or so, that they are totally out of touch with what our country stands for and get the religious right to fall in line with your opinion. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!