My Friend Ed And I Disagree (and it's ok).

Ed and I are New Yorkers by birth and met in college. Earlier today he wrote the following about the plans for a Muslim cultural center a few blocks out of eyesight range of the Twin Towers site:

"this cultural [center] does not need to be so close to ground zero. It is not about religious freedom but rather about being sensitive to those who lost loved ones on 9-11."

Here's my reply:

There is no mosque planned for ground zero. None at all. No minarets over downtown, no muezzin calling believers to prayer over loudspeakers... and no line of sight between the twin towers site and Park 51. Also, the people building the cultural center are 100% American, like you, and me. If you don't like the idea of a Muslim outreach and community center-- don't join. When they come for my neighbor, they are coming for me. My Muslim neighbors' freedom is tantamount to my own. Be an American and stand up for the rights of your neighbors.

BTW, loved hanging with you and meeting your beautiful family. Go Bearcats! Go Tau!

Lest one mistakenly conclude that Liberals don't care about what's right, or that Conservatives are the sole custodians of morality in America:

Ted Olsen, Republican legal genius extraordinaire, whose wife died in the 9/11 attack, strongly rejects the idea that banning the cultural center is the proper way to show respect to the memory of our lost loved ones. In fact, we can show the dead our respect by NOT succumbing to racism and religious intolerance. Allowing bigots of any stripe to prevail would be the ultimate disrespect of their sacrifice.