As Americans, we the people, through our birthright, have taken upon us the responsibility to follow and uphold the US Constitution. The First Amendment is part of the Constitution, and it affects us greatly. It goes as follows, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
In other words, government has no authority over religion, the excersice of religion, the assembling and speech of religion. Well, during the big debate over Park 51 NYC Mosque, congress has gone against the first amendment. The media were very anxious to cover this issue especially because there was such a big dispute between the Republican and Democrat parties over this issue of Park 51. The media were looking for the most saleable headline. As such, it is easy to see why the mosque debate is being portrayed by most reporting as a partisan battle. Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Barack Obama, Bush Administration, and many more politicians all took part of debating this issue.
Palin twitted that the mosque represents an “Unnecessary provocation” that “stabs hearts”. Another ridiculous exhortation from a high-profile Republican was said by Newt Gingrich, “Nazis don’t have the right to put up a sign next to the holocaust museum in Washington” and that the US “would never accept the Japanese putting up a site next to Pearl Harbor”.
In my research, I noticed that most of the people against the mosque were Republican, and that most of the people for the mosque were Democrat. A quote I found in an article by Tom Rogan said, “These Republicans are not only concerned with protecting freedom of worship and unity in American society; they are also keenly aware of the forming electoral landscape that Republicans will face beyond this election cycle and into the future. While these Republicans do not fear perception of weakness on national security as many Democrats do, underlining their attitudes toward the mosque debate is their realization that the Republican party is running on risky ground.” Much of the debates were due to the elections, and the different parties were wanting votes. But, the should have remembered the oath they took to uphold the Constitution.
In the end, it does not matter that “the Park 51 project will involve a community multi-faith worship centre, or a swimming pool, or a music and art centre (hardly the priorites of an extremist Muslim). In an election-year environment, emotion can – and in this case, has – often overwhelmed logic.”
-Tom Rogan, Park 51 dividing lines, Aug 2010
American politicians, Republican and Democrat alike, should remember the first part of the first amendment to the constitution that they have sworn to uphold: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” It really is simple; respect for personal freedom, including freedom to worship, as central to our political process is a vital part of our national identity, and we need to make sure it is upheld no matter the situation.
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