Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

NerdGirl wrote:I live in a building with an Islamic prayer room in it, and I have yet to hear anyone refer to my building as a 22-story mosque because of that.

Katya wrote:

NerdGirl wrote:I live in a building with an Islamic prayer room in it, and I have yet to hear anyone refer to my building as a 22-story mosque because of that.

The Wilkinson's Center has a room set aside as an Islamic prayer room. I vote we start calling it the Wilkinson's Mosque.

Katya wrote:

NerdGirl wrote:I live in a building with an Islamic prayer room in it, and I have yet to hear anyone refer to my building as a 22-story mosque because of that.

The Wilkinson's Center has a room set aside as an Islamic prayer room. I vote we start calling it the Wilkinson's Mosque.

wired wrote:*Is there any way we could get "titles" for questions? When I Facebooked his post (first time I've done it) it used the default Board Question title bar. Anyway we could get specific posts to say "Board Question #XXXXX - Ground Zero Mosque Support Rationale" or something else? Even as I'm asking this, I'm thinking it's not that great of an idea, but it would make the board much more "shareable." Also, a Facebook/Tweet button would be nice. Also, serve me a sandwich every time I visit the site.

Feelings about 9/11 are raw and real. Many people, including families who lost loved ones that day, find the prospect of a mosque near Ground Zero upsetting. I've heard this reaction in my family, too. But feelings aren't reasons. You can't tell somebody not to build a house of worship somewhere just because the idea upsets you. You have to figure out why you're upset. What's the basis of your discomfort? Why should others respect it? For that matter, why should you?

I recall that as a graduate student I wrote a critique of an important political philosopher. It was clear that I disagreed with him. My professor told me that my paper was good, but not good enough. Before you launch into your criticism, she said, you must first present the strongest case for the position you are opposing, one that the philosopher himself could accept. I redid the paper. I still had important differences with the philosopher, but I understood him better, and I saw the strengths and virtues, as well as limitations, of his belief. I learned a lesson that I’ve applied across the spectrum of my life.

Have we who have taken upon us the name of Christ slipped unknowingly into patterns of slander, evil speaking, and bitter stereotyping? Have personal or partisan or business or religious differences been translated into a kind of demonizing of those of different views? Do we pause to understand the seemingly different positions of others and seek, where possible, common ground?

General Andrew Jackson, as he walked along the line at the Battle of New Orleans, said to his men, “Gentlemen, elevate your guns a little lower!” I think many of us need to elevate our “guns” a little lower. On the other hand, we need to raise the level of private and public discourse. We should avoid caricaturing the positions of others, constructing “straw men,” if you will, and casting unwarranted aspersions on their motivations and character. We need, as the Lord counseled, to uphold honest, wise, and good men and women wherever they are found and to recognize that there are “among all sects, parties, and denominations” those who are “kept from the truth [of the gospel] because they know not where to find it.” Would we hide that light because we have entered into the culture of slander, of stereotyping, of giving and seeking offense?

It is far too easy sometimes to fall into a spirit of mockery and cynicism in dealing with those of contrary views. We demoralize or demean so as to bring others or their ideas in contempt. It is a primary tool of those who occupy the large and spacious building that Father Lehi saw in vision. Jude, the brother of Christ, warned that “there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.”

Closely related to mockery is a spirit of cynicism. Cynics are disposed to find and to catch at fault. Implicitly or explicitly, they display a sneering disbelief in sincerity and rectitude. Isaiah spoke of those who “watch for iniquity” and “make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.” In this regard, the Lord has counseled in latter days that we “cease to find fault one with another” and “above all things, clothe [ourselves] with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.”

President George Albert Smith observed, “There is nothing in the world more deleterious or harmful to the human family than hatred, prejudice, suspicion, and the attitude that some people have toward their fellows, of unkindness.” In matters of politics, he warned, “Whenever your politics cause you to speak unkindly of your brethren, know this, that you are upon dangerous ground.” Speaking of the great mission of the latter-day kingdom, he counseled: “This is not a militant church to which we belong. This is a church that holds out peace to the world. It is not our duty to go into the world and find fault with others, neither to criticize men because they do not understand. But it is our privilege, in kindness and love, to go among them and divide with them the truth that the Lord has revealed in this latter day.”

In a world beset by wrath, the prophet of our day, President Gordon B. Hinckley, has counseled: “Now, there is much that we can and must do in these perilous times. We can give our opinions on the merit of the situation as we see it, but never let us become a party to words or works of evil concerning our brothers and sisters in various nations on one side or the other. Political differences never justify hatred or ill will. I hope that the Lord’s people may be at peace one with another during times of trouble, regardless of what loyalties they may have to different governments or parties.”

Vorpal Blade wrote:I don't really want to discuss it, actually.

Vorpal Blade wrote:It doesn't seem to make much difference whether I do or don't, my opinion counts for nothing. It isn't something I'm going to have the opportunity or responsibility to vote on.

Vorpal Blade wrote:It is standard practice to hold a hearing before letting anyone build anything anywhere. There are all kinds of restrictions placed on what buildings can go where, and how they will be built.

Vorpal Blade wrote:I don't think making the people build their structure a few blocks further away from ground zero violates any freedoms or rights to speak of.

Vorpal Blade wrote:Those who oppose the Muslim building should be treated with respect and love, and not assume they are ignorant of the feelings of the Muslims, or insensitive to their rights.

There are all kinds of restrictions placed on what buildings can go where, and how they will be built. All it would take is to find an endangered species living in the vicinity of ground zero and building anything would be out of the question. Or an adult bookstore within five blocks of a school. Or just about anything considered offensive by the local community. We already live with numerous restrictions on our right to assemble, use our property, or practice our religion as we wish.

Those who oppose the Muslim building should be treated with respect and love, and not assume they are ignorant of the feelings of the Muslims, or insensitive to their rights.

Marduk wrote:Or at least, they would offend me if I ever took offense.