| I was not born in the United States, and I tend to | | | | talk to an American without, at some point, being |
| maintain a personal policy of "Not my country, not | | | | told of how the United States is this amazingly |
| my business" when it comes to internal U.S. affairs. | | | | tolerant country (of course, this comes just after the |
| Unless, of course, the issue is one that concerns the | | | | American has complained about the local customs of |
| city in which I live and, more importantly, U.S. | | | | the Latin American or the Western European, but |
| commentators have done such a poor job of | | | | we'll discuss manners in tomorrow's article). |
| covering the issue that they clearly require an | | | | It all sounds wonderful. |
| outsider to shed some light on the matter. | | | | A land of great bounty with tolerance for all (or is it |
| On one side, you have the racists and the | | | | liberty for all?) and with brave people and free people |
| xenophobes. Though it may not be my place to point | | | | and all sorts of amazing things going on. Sounds |
| out the rampant ignorance within which they wallow, | | | | pretty cool. |
| I'll point it out all the same. With the racists and | | | | Enough to make a person downright envious. |
| xenophobes, unfortunately, there are also some | | | | Until someone wants to build a mosque. |
| sensible people who are raising legitimate concerns: | | | | Then, fear becomes the order of the day. Suddenly, |
| Why did the members of New York's large Muslim | | | | Zionists spring up from out of nowhere and they |
| community choose downtown Manhattan as the site | | | | start talking about Islamo-fascists or whatever and, |
| for their new mosque? Was it convenience, or a sort | | | | next thing you know, Hamas gets dragged into it |
| of "haha, got you now" move aimed to mock the | | | | (they're sort of involved in everything, aren't they?) |
| current lack of a World Trade Center? | | | | and before you know it, someone wants to go |
| From experience with Muslims and from actually | | | | bomb Iran. |
| knowing Muslims and having Muslim friends, not just | | | | Don't ask how Iran got involved. |
| watching movies about terrorism and tuning in to | | | | No one knows. |
| Fox's disturbingly ridiculous programming, I can safely | | | | They just want to bomb the place. |
| assume that, for the most part, the decision was | | | | That's sort of what happened with the downtown |
| made out of convenience. | | | | mosque. |
| Prepare yourselves: Muslims are just regular people | | | | And that's the hypocrisy and the self-righteousness |
| trying to pay their bills and go on about their lives. | | | | of the situation becomes apparent, and that's when |
| Yes, there are crazies in the Muslim community. But | | | | the foreigner begins to realize that all the talk of |
| after a day of reading right-wing political blogs (to | | | | tolerance is really just... Talk. |
| say nothing of, say, Oklahoma City), one can | | | | Empty talk, at that. |
| ascertain that there are crazies in the Protestant | | | | You see, if all of the wonderful talk of liberty and |
| communities. | | | | tolerance and freedom and bravery and the rest of it |
| Unfortunately for the people with legitimate and | | | | were real, Americans would not respond to a |
| reasonable concerns, they usually fall into the | | | | mosque in downtown Manhattan with talk of 9/11 |
| category of people opposed to the downtown | | | | and Hamas and terrorism and with protests. |
| mosque. | | | | They'd say this, "You want to build a mosque two |
| In the popular imagination, that sort of puts them | | | | blocks away from the World Trade Center? Hell no! I |
| with the right-wing nut-jobs who hear the word | | | | want you to build it on the World Trade Center site |
| "Islam" and head for their nearest gun shop. It's | | | | itself, because I want you to know that even though |
| unfortunate because they are asking appropriate | | | | I don't agree with your decision, I tolerate it and |
| questions. | | | | respect it and that's that, because I'm above being |
| Of course, what's even more unfortunate is that the | | | | petty and ridiculous. You can be petty and ridiculous, |
| politicians got involved. From President Obama to | | | | but not me, because I'm an American." |
| New York Governor Patterson to some guy who is | | | | Unfortunately, no one has said anything remotely |
| running for governor of Florida or something (does he | | | | close to that. |
| really think he matters?) to Nancy Pelosi (has the | | | | And then you wonder why Western Europeans and |
| woman ever said something that didn't land her in a | | | | Latin Americans, long-time natural allies of the United |
| world of mockery and insults?), politicians got | | | | States, respond to American talk of tolerance and |
| involved in the downtown mosque. | | | | freedom and liberty with reserved cynicism. |
| And then, a local issue of a mosque, New York's | | | | I, personally, believe that the downtown mosque is |
| Muslim community, and some genuinely concerned | | | | not a particularly good idea and that it is not sensitive |
| citizens grew into something like a three-ring circus, | | | | toward those of us who lived in New York during the |
| complete with political footballs, political points, | | | | World Trade Center attack of 9/11, but hey, I |
| right-wing psychos, and Hamas. | | | | believe in tolerance, and so I'll support the downtown |
| After all, these days in the United States what circus | | | | mosque if only because there's really not much other |
| isn't complete without Hamas and some Zionist group | | | | choice. |
| or another? | | | | That might make me the ideal of an American, but |
| But all of that is just noise. The citizens of the United | | | | given the self-righteousness and hypocrisy on display |
| States of America have gotten carried away with | | | | within this whole downtown mosque debate, I think |
| noise. | | | | I'll keep my current citizenship. |
| So let's add some focus, shall we? | | | | I only ask that you tolerate my decision, knowing in |
| The United States, for better or worse, has made a | | | | my heart that you probably won't, but being brave |
| career out of driving Western Europe and Latin | | | | enough not to care. |
| America nuts with its talk of tolerance. You just can't | | | | |