Normally I'm a liberal thinker, though I prefer to remain an independent for just such an occasion. While I'm not aligning wholesale with the GOP or the Tea Party in this I do agree this center, mosque, mosh pit, whatever, should not be built anywhere near the site of the World Trade Center. I say "mosh pit" not to be insulting but to illustrate that it doesn't matter what you call it.
Like most New Yorkers I am still traumatized by the events of 9/11. It's likely you will not feel the same depth of emotion about that day if you have little connection beyond being shocked by the news reports. That's not a slur against anyone else, it's just the way grief works.
Nevertheless, it's not just the grief of the past it's the current controversy and it's long lingering effects. As long as there is this much vehement opposition this project will be a war zone for years. At the very least it will be a war of words, a long drawn out verbal battle. My gut tells me it won't stop at just words though. Looking through history at similar situations it's apparent that this site could easily become a true battleground. Isn't that the exact opposite of what Muslims are proclaiming they are trying to achieve here? Isn't this simply more divisive instead of less so? The more it is pushed against the opposition, the more it is resented and the deeper and more vicious that resentment becomes. Those of us who agree it's your right but oppose the location are opposing it for this main reason. Muslims have the right to build it however their insistence on this site is worrisome. For all appearances the more insistence there is to build it near ground zero the more it seems less like a place of harmony and more like a trophy. Rightly or wrongly, that's the perception. Clearly it's a bad idea for this fact alone.
However, assuming this is to go forward who is going to provide the security for it? I pay enough taxes thank you very much. Then there's the additional emotional damage years of controversy would have on downtown Manhattan, an area that has seen enough heartache over the last decade. When has there been time to heal?
Not to mention the fact that this project could get mired in red tape for years to come. Union members won't work on it, non-union people won't scab there. Lawsuits will be filed and fought. The years will pass without the first hammer being swung. Millions, perhaps even billions of dollars will be spent and the only thing gained will be a deeper rift.
Does anyone really believe that a sudden jolt of enlightenment will bring us all together on this? Does anyone really believe that building it because "they have the right" will end the controversy?
That being said there are those who oppose simply because Muslims are different. They are ignorant. Where that ignorance comes from has plenty of facets. Some people just don't know, some want to be ignorant and some have been taught over generations to hate the differences in people. Prejudice is not something easily changed no matter how wrong it is. Maybe through a community center you can reach the people who are just ill-informed and those whose environment has fostered their ignorance (albeit it will take them longer to figure it out). But the logical way to educate people is through gentle guidance, not defiance to their opposition which smacks of invalidation of their feelings. It's probably idealistic to believe you'll bring people together wholesale anywhere this center is built, but it'll be near impossible if it's built near this site. If you're going to bring people together you first have to empathize with your opposition. The more you push for your rights in this circumstance, the more the opposition is emotionally charged. Rightly or wrongly. That's not hyperbole that's human nature. You won't change that here, you just won't.
Open up a big community center somewhere else. Fling the doors open and proclaim brotherhood with mankind. Stand up loudly against the radicals that left this gaping wound on our hearts. Gather the worlds people together of every race and religion, hold hands, sing Kumbaya. It 's only chance of working will be if you don't build it there.
