Broken Public Discourse

For weeks now, the debate over the Cordoba House or by its new name Park51 has been hot, noisy, extreme and about to escalate even more. It turns out the project is a mirage. There is no money, about $100+ needed, no architectural plan, and no environment statement sought. It is a pipe dream with the urgency of a dream and the practically of a visit to the zoo.

This has not stopped liberals from being describing the project in infinite details; it is like somebody knowing all the details about Big Foot. Furthermore, if you were not behind the pipe dream in all its nonexistent details you were ridiculed as a right winger opposing religious tolerance, discriminating against Muslims and otherwise the enemy of everything good and beautiful.

The right wing in the form of Gingrich and Palin has responded immediately with full racist attitude towards Muslims. They stand opposed to mosques everywhere in the US. They are ready to start a new crusade against Muslims. Even some Democrats have expressed their opposition to the project at a place referred to at close the hollow grounds of 9/11. (The location is a regular commercial street with barbershops, groceries and restaurants.)

In the middle of the two warring camp were people who just wanted more details, explanation of the name and other minor discrepancies. This group got all the insults both camps had to dish out. You are with us or you against us seems to be the primitive approach both camps used.

Most American Muslims are of two minds about the project. They rightly and constitutionally demand to have the right to build a mosque anywhere other religions can build their houses of worship, but they also are amenable to compromise on the location of the mosque. This flies in the face of the liberals’ insistence on the exact location the nonexistent project started with.

Howard Dean agrees in principle that the Muslims have the same rights any other religion has, but proposes a compromise on the location. Liberals jumped on him as if he just killed someone. Lack of tolerance, harsh language, hostile attitude, lack of flexibility and aversion to discussion and civil exchange demonstrate starkly by liberals makes them similar to the right-wingers.