Thursday, September 16, 2010

Freedom of Religion except in New York?

I will never forget hearing my mother screaming as I called her the morning of September 11th, 2001. She had just gotten off the elevator at her office, as I was informing the receptionist that I needed her to keep my mom there and not to let her leave because I was coming to pick her up. She was screaming because my brother worked at the Pentagon. I raced down I-95 trying to pick her up as fast as I could, while frantically calling my brother's cell phone. I couldn't get through, all circuits were busy. I certainly knew my mom was in no shape to be driving, plus I wanted us to be together when we woke my dad up to tell him about the shocking things that were happening to our country. We had to tell him that we didn't know if my brother was alive or dead. The office my brother worked for was in constant contact with all their employee's families keeping them update on any information they had to give us. No one heard from them for five hours after the plane hit the building. To sit there with my parents watching the horror of that day playing over and over on TV, waiting and not knowing if I will ever see Chris again. I just remember sitting with my parents wondering if Chis is gone how are we going to get through this together. We are so fortunate that Chris is alive and I am so grateful. The outcome certainly could have turned out different for our family as it did for so many who did lose their loved one. My heart will always go out to them, and I think of them often. That is why so many people are so upset and emotional over the proposed Mosque to be built so close to where the terrorist attacks happened. I too, find myself going back and forth on how I feel about this issue. The constitution is the principals in which our country is founded, and I do hold that in very high regard as a citizen of this great county. My hope is that those who are proposing building the Mosque have some compassion and decide to build it a little further away out of respect. In the end, freedom of religion should prevail. Without our constitution we would not have a country.

4 comments:

  1. 1) There was a mosque on the 17th floor of the south tower on 9/11/01.
    2) The mosque is going to be a few blocks away, not directly at ground zero.
    3) Coincidentally, I was in New York City on 9/11 this year. I was shocked to see that ground zero is still just a gigantic hole in the ground. Isn't it time we at least put something there.

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  2. I find it sad that this country was founded on the idea of religious freedom yet we are constantly putting down other religions. A mosque a few blocks away from ground zero should not be a problem. People need to remember that there has been many wars and killings in the the name of Jesus Christ yet those seem to be justified. Just because a certain set of people did something in the name of their own religion has no standing as to how that whole religion feels.

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  3. It shouldn't matter where the mosque is built. We have to understand that everyone is not a terrorist. we can not judge a whole religion just because of a few people, that's just not right.
    i remember when i learned in school that america had dropped an atomic bomb on hiroshima, japan. i did not understand why it happened. that was devastating to the country to the point where people today still cannot live there. WE act like that never happened and wonder why so many people hate america, or americans.

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