Land of the free... Home of the Brave, or is it?
On August 15th, 2010, I was inspired by President Barack Obama. Still, let me make it clear, “I am not a Republican nor a Democrat… and got sense enough to know it." Macolm X said those very words, and I agree with him.
But however faint my hope in politicians may be, every now and then I find some hope in Obama and, in this specific instance, he demonstrated the type of leadership I wish he would always demonstrate.
I am referring to a speech he gave on religious freedoms, and the right for Muslims to build a cultural center. What many, incorrectly, call a mosque... on private property near Ground Zero (The World Trade Center). This Muslim center was an exercise of rights, just in the same way other religions exercise their right to build cultural centers in this country.
We, Americans, are very proud and quick to say that we are a country with religious freedoms and tolerance. But, honestly, the deed and the word don’t always go hand in hand.
For full disclosure, I should let you know that I don’t like religion very much, if any at all. I feel, religion has been used to promote and justify hatred, intolerance and suppression of beliefs that differ from one group to another. Yet, even though I don't like religion, I also know that my being tolerant of religion is essential; especially, if I wish to preserve equality.
I frequently find that the God-fearing Americans, who call themselves Christians, say they love religious freedoms. But when the Muslims want to build a supposed mosque near Ground-Zero they start shouting: “What?”“This is hallowed ground!!”“That is so insensitive!!”.
Now, if I tell them that this is religious intolerance they get angry with me. It’s very much like the parent who says they want their child to grow up and be a great example to the world yet they turn around and verbally abuse that child. If someone tells them that verbal abuse does not set a good example to the child they angrily reply: “Don’t tell me how to raise my child.” In other words: Criticism of America not allowed, ever.
This mentality is ‘Americanism’ at its best, and here I have to go back to Malcom X’s words:
But however faint my hope in politicians may be, every now and then I find some hope in Obama and, in this specific instance, he demonstrated the type of leadership I wish he would always demonstrate.
I am referring to a speech he gave on religious freedoms, and the right for Muslims to build a cultural center. What many, incorrectly, call a mosque... on private property near Ground Zero (The World Trade Center). This Muslim center was an exercise of rights, just in the same way other religions exercise their right to build cultural centers in this country.
We, Americans, are very proud and quick to say that we are a country with religious freedoms and tolerance. But, honestly, the deed and the word don’t always go hand in hand.
For full disclosure, I should let you know that I don’t like religion very much, if any at all. I feel, religion has been used to promote and justify hatred, intolerance and suppression of beliefs that differ from one group to another. Yet, even though I don't like religion, I also know that my being tolerant of religion is essential; especially, if I wish to preserve equality.
I frequently find that the God-fearing Americans, who call themselves Christians, say they love religious freedoms. But when the Muslims want to build a supposed mosque near Ground-Zero they start shouting: “What?”“This is hallowed ground!!”“That is so insensitive!!”.
Now, if I tell them that this is religious intolerance they get angry with me. It’s very much like the parent who says they want their child to grow up and be a great example to the world yet they turn around and verbally abuse that child. If someone tells them that verbal abuse does not set a good example to the child they angrily reply: “Don’t tell me how to raise my child.” In other words: Criticism of America not allowed, ever.
This mentality is ‘Americanism’ at its best, and here I have to go back to Malcom X’s words:
“I am not a Republican nor a Democrat, nor an American, and got sense enough to know it. I am one of the 22 million Black victims of the Democrats, and one of the 22 million Black victims of the Republicans, and one of the 22 million Black victims of Americanism.... You and I have never seen Democracy, all we've seen is hypocrisy.....”
Malcom X spoke, and still speaks, to millions of African-Americans. As a Latino, who fits the description of an Anchor Baby (my parents were undocumented), who was told my last name will hold me back (at one point I even changed it to appear less ‘Latino’ - thank God I changed it back), who was told by my American teachers that I shouldn’t be simultaneously educated in Spanish & in English (my mother was smart enough to ignore them), who had a gun pointed at him by cops who thought I was stealing a car (it was my car) and another time because they thought I was running from a crime scene (I was running to a see a play in a theater), who was told by his employer that people of color, like me, are a weight to this great country (he was not kidding and he was sober), who has been called racial epithets (those people were also sober and not kidding)… I can relate with Malcom X. Malcolm X speaks to me and I agree when he says: “You and I have never seen Democracy, all we've seen is hypocrisy”.
Why do I feel I just see hypocrisy? Because our country proudly says we are a country that defends religious freedom.. “we’re not like those damned terrorists, religious freedom is allowed in America” then we turn around and say “NO Mosque near Ground-Zero”. Is that America? If it is, then I am not part of that America, I am not part of that Americanism.
If Christians want to cry victim, because Muslims want to build a cultural center near Ground-Zero, then lets recall history. European Settlers conquered the United States, and many of those same settlers were self labeled Christians. The Christian Bible itself was used to justify the persecution, conquering and killing of millions of Native Americans. If you think I am exaggerating this point then up look a little law that our President, Andrew Jackson, helped pass. That law was The Indian Removal Act and it was used to remove 'uncivilized' Indians where states were eager to gain access to land that they wanted from the Native Americans. How was uncivilized defined by our President who helped pass this law?
In 1830, Jackson wanted Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act and argued that this legislation would improve security against foreign invaders and encourage the civilization of the Native Americans. He said the act "will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps cause them gradually, under the protection of the government and through the influences of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and christian community."
No matter how much people say that there is a separation between church and state in America, truth is, there is not a separation between church and state. Many citizens, including politicians, rarely separate religion from policy and this has been going on for centuries, although this is not how it's supposed to be. The law explicitly states a separation but the word and the deed don't always go hand in had - and that is my point. Until we are honest about how American mentality functions - until we admit to ourselves that many Christian Americans and politicians are theLAST ONES to defend the US Constitution and until we see that, then we won't understand why we are encouraged to deny Muslims the right to build a Cultural Center near Ground Zero. This right is the same right other religious institutions get but we don't want to extend that to right to Islam. Until we get that, we will NOT get what is happening at Ground Zero and why the Constitution is NOT being upheld. Simply put, our 'Christian' nation has a long history of blurring the lines between church and state and what is happening today at Ground-Zero is no different. Christians are the civilized ones and everyone else is not, everyone else is either a terrorist or an uncivilized bunch.
But, if you think Muslims are terrorists and/or insensitive then let me ask you this... how many Christian Churches were built on Native American hallowed ground? Was that not insensitive? No, you call that your right to religious freedom! But if Muslims want to build a "Mosque", on private property, near Ground-Zero you call that offensive. Yes, almost 3,000 people died there... among them were Jews, Christians, atheists and even Muslims!!! Guess who else died there? Undocumented immigrants!! That’s right, but we’ll leave that for another conversation.
If Ground-Zero is 'hallowed ground' and no Muslim Cultural Center should be built near there, since people died there on 9/11 in the hands of Muslim terrorists, how come I don’t see you shouting all of America is hallowed ground and NO CHRISTIAN CHURCH should be built on any American soil since MILLIONS of Native Americans died and spilled their blood trying to defend their land from the hands of the Europeans terrorists who called themselves Christians? No, because Europeans never terrorized the Native Americans and what happened was Manifest Destiny instead, right? That’s what they taught you in history class and that’s what you believe.
Remember that term, Manifest Destiny? Let me make this clear, the term Manifest Destiny was coined within ten years of the Indian Removal Act. That was NOT a coincidence... it was a deliberate way to justify the killing of Native Americans. It was used as away to justify terrorism by invading Europeans against the rightful natives of this land. Even the President said they should cast their 'savage habits' and adopt the Christian way. If Europeans, who call themselves Christians, kill innocent people for land then it's Manifest Destiny, and that's what most schools teach us in America. After these Christians kill off the savages they get to build churches because the law says they can... but if anyone else kills innocent people then THEY are terrorists and the Constitution should not apply equally for them. This is our way of practicing religious tolerance in America, this is our way of upholding the American Constitution.
Anyway, even if it was wrong to kill Native Americans, perhaps you just don’t care to make the comparison cause it happened too long ago and that’s in the past, right? Of course, that’s in the past and this is not. This is relevant... because it just happened about 10 years ago. But the other thing is not relevant at all. Yeah, I know.
There are many who believe the lives of 2,996 people are worth more and are more relevant than the lives ofMILLIONS of Native Americans who were killed, persecuted and conquered by the Christian Europeans. Let me spell it out, this is Americanism, this is Imperialism, this is Manifest Destiny, this is Monroe Doctrine… and this is hypocrisy!!! White Christians get to do their thing… no one else gets that. This is freedom in America. Which is why I agree with Malcom X when he said... "You and I have never seen Democracy, all we've seen is hypocrisy....."
Now, for the faux-liberals (center Democrats) and the Republicans who proclaim to Muslims that both current wars (Afghanistan and Iraq) are NOT, in any way shape or form, wars against Islam. To those who say that these two wars are about going after the madmen who hijacked the Muslim religion - and is not a war against the ‘good’ civilian Muslims. If you really mean that when you say it, then you need to stand up for the rights of civilian Muslims who abhor the fact that their religion was hijacked by a few madmen.
These Muslims are regular, civilian, citizens who just want to practice their religion. So unless, somewhere deep down inside, you hope and pray to your God that this is a war against all of Islam... you must defend the Muslim’s right to religious equality in this country because what they’re asking for is no different than what the Christian and Jewish religions already get.
If civilian Muslims want to build a mosque near Ground-Zero, with the hopes of also building religious tolerance, why are we upset? The Judaic-Christian Bible, through Manifest Destiny, was also hijacked to justify the killing and conquering of Native Americans for their land. This group of Muslims just want to build a Mosque, on private property, as a way for them to also express their religious freedom and religious tolerance... a freedom that is supposed to exist in this country. The same freedoms we, Americans, love to say we stand for and defend.
If civilian Christians and Jews get to build holy sites on any conquered Native American land, what we like to call private property, then why can’t civilian Muslims get the same right?!??
Yes, this is America. Land of the free, home of the brave... or is it?
Below, I include many written quotes by Thomas Jefferson that speak in regards to America - the separation of church and state and religious freedom.
- The Anchor Baby
Why do I feel I just see hypocrisy? Because our country proudly says we are a country that defends religious freedom.. “we’re not like those damned terrorists, religious freedom is allowed in America” then we turn around and say “NO Mosque near Ground-Zero”. Is that America? If it is, then I am not part of that America, I am not part of that Americanism.
If Christians want to cry victim, because Muslims want to build a cultural center near Ground-Zero, then lets recall history. European Settlers conquered the United States, and many of those same settlers were self labeled Christians. The Christian Bible itself was used to justify the persecution, conquering and killing of millions of Native Americans. If you think I am exaggerating this point then up look a little law that our President, Andrew Jackson, helped pass. That law was The Indian Removal Act and it was used to remove 'uncivilized' Indians where states were eager to gain access to land that they wanted from the Native Americans. How was uncivilized defined by our President who helped pass this law?
In 1830, Jackson wanted Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act and argued that this legislation would improve security against foreign invaders and encourage the civilization of the Native Americans. He said the act "will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps cause them gradually, under the protection of the government and through the influences of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and christian community."
No matter how much people say that there is a separation between church and state in America, truth is, there is not a separation between church and state. Many citizens, including politicians, rarely separate religion from policy and this has been going on for centuries, although this is not how it's supposed to be. The law explicitly states a separation but the word and the deed don't always go hand in had - and that is my point. Until we are honest about how American mentality functions - until we admit to ourselves that many Christian Americans and politicians are theLAST ONES to defend the US Constitution and until we see that, then we won't understand why we are encouraged to deny Muslims the right to build a Cultural Center near Ground Zero. This right is the same right other religious institutions get but we don't want to extend that to right to Islam. Until we get that, we will NOT get what is happening at Ground Zero and why the Constitution is NOT being upheld. Simply put, our 'Christian' nation has a long history of blurring the lines between church and state and what is happening today at Ground-Zero is no different. Christians are the civilized ones and everyone else is not, everyone else is either a terrorist or an uncivilized bunch.
But, if you think Muslims are terrorists and/or insensitive then let me ask you this... how many Christian Churches were built on Native American hallowed ground? Was that not insensitive? No, you call that your right to religious freedom! But if Muslims want to build a "Mosque", on private property, near Ground-Zero you call that offensive. Yes, almost 3,000 people died there... among them were Jews, Christians, atheists and even Muslims!!! Guess who else died there? Undocumented immigrants!! That’s right, but we’ll leave that for another conversation.
If Ground-Zero is 'hallowed ground' and no Muslim Cultural Center should be built near there, since people died there on 9/11 in the hands of Muslim terrorists, how come I don’t see you shouting all of America is hallowed ground and NO CHRISTIAN CHURCH should be built on any American soil since MILLIONS of Native Americans died and spilled their blood trying to defend their land from the hands of the Europeans terrorists who called themselves Christians? No, because Europeans never terrorized the Native Americans and what happened was Manifest Destiny instead, right? That’s what they taught you in history class and that’s what you believe.
Remember that term, Manifest Destiny? Let me make this clear, the term Manifest Destiny was coined within ten years of the Indian Removal Act. That was NOT a coincidence... it was a deliberate way to justify the killing of Native Americans. It was used as away to justify terrorism by invading Europeans against the rightful natives of this land. Even the President said they should cast their 'savage habits' and adopt the Christian way. If Europeans, who call themselves Christians, kill innocent people for land then it's Manifest Destiny, and that's what most schools teach us in America. After these Christians kill off the savages they get to build churches because the law says they can... but if anyone else kills innocent people then THEY are terrorists and the Constitution should not apply equally for them. This is our way of practicing religious tolerance in America, this is our way of upholding the American Constitution.
Anyway, even if it was wrong to kill Native Americans, perhaps you just don’t care to make the comparison cause it happened too long ago and that’s in the past, right? Of course, that’s in the past and this is not. This is relevant... because it just happened about 10 years ago. But the other thing is not relevant at all. Yeah, I know.
There are many who believe the lives of 2,996 people are worth more and are more relevant than the lives ofMILLIONS of Native Americans who were killed, persecuted and conquered by the Christian Europeans. Let me spell it out, this is Americanism, this is Imperialism, this is Manifest Destiny, this is Monroe Doctrine… and this is hypocrisy!!! White Christians get to do their thing… no one else gets that. This is freedom in America. Which is why I agree with Malcom X when he said... "You and I have never seen Democracy, all we've seen is hypocrisy....."
Now, for the faux-liberals (center Democrats) and the Republicans who proclaim to Muslims that both current wars (Afghanistan and Iraq) are NOT, in any way shape or form, wars against Islam. To those who say that these two wars are about going after the madmen who hijacked the Muslim religion - and is not a war against the ‘good’ civilian Muslims. If you really mean that when you say it, then you need to stand up for the rights of civilian Muslims who abhor the fact that their religion was hijacked by a few madmen.
These Muslims are regular, civilian, citizens who just want to practice their religion. So unless, somewhere deep down inside, you hope and pray to your God that this is a war against all of Islam... you must defend the Muslim’s right to religious equality in this country because what they’re asking for is no different than what the Christian and Jewish religions already get.
If civilian Muslims want to build a mosque near Ground-Zero, with the hopes of also building religious tolerance, why are we upset? The Judaic-Christian Bible, through Manifest Destiny, was also hijacked to justify the killing and conquering of Native Americans for their land. This group of Muslims just want to build a Mosque, on private property, as a way for them to also express their religious freedom and religious tolerance... a freedom that is supposed to exist in this country. The same freedoms we, Americans, love to say we stand for and defend.
If civilian Christians and Jews get to build holy sites on any conquered Native American land, what we like to call private property, then why can’t civilian Muslims get the same right?!??
Yes, this is America. Land of the free, home of the brave... or is it?
Below, I include many written quotes by Thomas Jefferson that speak in regards to America - the separation of church and state and religious freedom.
- The Anchor Baby
QUOTES ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS & THE SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE BY FOUNDING FATHER AND FORMER PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON
“In every country and in every age, the [clergy] has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.” -Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Horatio G. Spafford, March 17, 1814
"The advocate of religious freedom is to expect neither peace nor forgiveness from [the clergy]." - Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Levi Lincoln, 1802.
"The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and in-grafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man." -Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Jeremiah Moor, 1800
"I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another." -Thomas Jefferson, in a to Elbridge Gerry, 1799
“No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” -Thomas Jefferson, written to Francis Gilmer, 1816.
“Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.”- Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State.” - Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT., Jan. 1, 1802
Below is the full speech from President Obama on this issue. I feel this is one of the few times that he, unequivocally and unabashedly, stood up for something I fully and totally agree with. Here is his inspiring speech:
Here at the White House, we have a tradition of hosting that goes back several years, just as we host Christmas parties and Seders and Diwali celebrations. And these events celebrate the role of faith in the lives of the American people. They remind us of the basic truth that we are all children of God, and we all draw strength and a sense of purpose from our beliefs.
These events are also an affirmation of who we are as Americans. Our founders understood that the best way to honor the place of faith in the lives of our people was to protect their freedom to practice religion. In the Virginia Act of Establishing Religion Freedom, Thomas Jefferson wrote that "all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion." The First Amendment of our Constitution established the freedom of religion as the law of the land. And that right has been upheld ever since.
Indeed, over the course of our history, religion has flourished within our borders precisely because Americans have had the right to worship as they choose -- including the right to believe in no religion at all. And it is a testament to the wisdom of our founders that America remains deeply religious -- a nation where the ability of peoples of different faiths to coexist peacefully and with mutual respect for one another stands in stark contrast to the religious conflict that persists elsewhere around the globe.
Now, that's not to say that religion is without controversy. Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities -- particularly New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. And the pain and the experience of suffering by those who lost loved ones is just unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. And ground zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.
But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the founders must endure.
We must never forget those who we lost so tragically on 9/11, and we must always honor those who led the response to that attack - from the firefighters who charged up smoke-filled staircases, to our troops who are serving in Afghanistan today. And let us also remember who we're fighting against, and what we're fighting for. Our enemies respect no religious freedom. Al-Qaida's cause is not Islam -- it's a gross distortion of Islam. These are not religious leaders -- they're terrorists who murder innocent men and women and children. In fact, al-Qaida has killed more Muslims than people of any other religion -- and that list of victims includes innocent Muslims who were killed on 9/11.
So that's who we're fighting against. And the reason that we will win this fight is not simply the strength of our arms -- it is the strength of our values. The democracy that we uphold. The freedoms that we cherish. The laws that we apply without regard to race, or religion, or wealth, or status. Our capacity to show not merely tolerance, but respect towards those who are different from us -- and that way of life, that quintessentially American creed, stands in stark contrast to the nihilism of those who attacked us on that September morning, and who continue to plot against us today.
In my inaugural address I said that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and every culture, drawn from every end of this Earth. And that diversity can bring difficult debates. This is not unique to our time. Past eras have seen controversies about the construction of synagogues or Catholic churches. But time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, and stay true to our core values, and emerge stronger for it. So it must be -- and will be -- today.
And tonight, we are reminded that Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity. And Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been a part of America. The first Muslim ambassador to the United States, from Tunisia, was hosted by President Jefferson, who arranged a sunset dinner for his guest because it was Ramadan -- making it the first known iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago.
Like so many other immigrants, generations of Muslims came to forge their future here. They became farmers and merchants, worked in mills and factories. They helped lay the railroads. They helped to build America. They founded the first Islamic center in New York City in the 1890s. They built America's first mosque on the prairie of North Dakota. And perhaps the oldest surviving mosque in America -- still in use today -- is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Today, our nation is strengthened by millions of Muslim Americans. They excel in every walk of life. Muslim American communities -- including mosques in all 50 states -- also serve their neighbors. Muslim Americans protect our communities as police officers and firefighters and first responders. Muslim American clerics have spoken out against terror and extremism, reaffirming that Islam teaches that one must save human life, not take it. And Muslim Americans serve with honor in our military. At next week's at the Pentagon, tribute will be paid to three soldiers who gave their lives in Iraq and now rest among the heroes of Arlington National Cemetery.
These Muslim Americans died for the security that we depend on, and the freedoms that we cherish. They are part of an unbroken line of Americans that stretches back to our founding; Americans of all faiths who have served and sacrificed to extend the promise of America to new generations, and to ensure that what is exceptional about America is protected -- our commitment to stay true to our core values, and our ability slowly but surely to perfect our union.
For in the end, we remain "one nation, under God, indivisible." And we can only achieve "liberty and justice for all" if we live by that one rule at the heart of every great religion, including Islam -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.