Ann Coulter reminds us today what President Obama and others had to say about building a mosque at Ground Zero. You’ll be reminded of what appears to be a superficial support of First Amendment and religious rights. That support has now disappeared because a person plans to burn copies of the Koran on September 11 in protest of the role Islam played in the attack on America.
Rights leave us confused at times because we find ourselves being faced with either fully supporting our rights, even when those rights apply to things we don’t necessarily approve of or we become hypocrites and demand another person’s rights be snatched away.
It’s the affectation for political gain that reeks in this debate and all sides are guilty of it.
Where was the outcry when the American flag was burned? Where was the outcry when illegal immigrants tore down American flags, defaced and trampled them in protest? Where was the outcry when American soldiers were made to burn Bibles in Iraq out of fear of offending members of Islam? The list is endless.
Gen. David Patraeus fears that burning Koran’s in Florida on September 11 might cause the Muslims to get angry and go out and kill American soldiers. Think about this reasoning for a minute while we examine a bit of history.
During the Revolutionary War, one of the greatest challenges General George Washington faced was recruiting fighting soldiers. While there may have been at times a handful of Colonists who got mad and possibly offended when Washington lost battles at Long Island, New York, Fort Washington, Brandywine, West Point and others, and offered to go fight. But, it was only after resounding victories at Boston, Trenton, Princeton and Yorktown did it stir citizens to take up arms.
Some could view burning a few Korans as antagonizing to Muslims but surely, a resounding victory of the building of a Ground Zero mosque would do more to rally jihadists to the cause putting far more Americans in harms way. I ask. Are our enemies more motivated to kill Americans because they are offended or because they think they are winning the war?
So, where’s the outcry?
Tom Remington
