Seeking Relevance

Think Before you Persecute: The Mosque near Ground Zero

If you are an American Catholic or American Protestant and you are against an Islamic community center and mosque being built near Ground Zero, then you have absolutely no sense of your own religion or your religion’s history. And that is unfortunate. But if you are either Catholic or Protestant and speaking out against the Islamic Center, then you should be better informed before you persecute another religion or deny someone their constitutionally guaranteed rights.

 

Some history and examples …

 

Their farms were burned down. Crosses were burned at their homes. They were beaten. They were intimidated into joining places of worship not associated with their chosen religion. Rumors were spread through entire communities that they wanted to take over the American government and replace it with the leader of their religion. This was said to them:  “We say firmly to the Popish Bishops and Priests among us, give us your declaration of your relation to our civil government. Renounce your foreign allegiance to a Foreign Sovereign. Let us have your avowal in an official manifesto, that the Democratic Government under which you here live, delights you best. … Americans demand it.”

 

Who were they that were persecuted simply for their religious beliefs? They were Catholics -- persecuted in the United States of America by a group of Protestants that were bound together in the early part of the 1900s under the Ku Klux Klan.  And make no mistake: the Klan had great influence over certain parts of this nation back then. Mainly Protestants, the Klan were religious extremists.

 

Does that phrase sound familiar? Religious extremists.

 

An obscure but important book published in 1936 called ‘The Ku Klux Klan in Pennsylvania: A Study in Nativism” written by a college professor named Emerson H. Loucks, details the persecution and hatred of the Catholics by this extreme arm of the Protestant religion.  (The quote above is from that book.)

 

So, a question for all you Protestants who are against the building of the mosque: What do violent Muslim extremists have to do with Islam? Be careful of your answer – for if you apply the horrible actions of the Muslim extremists on 9/11 to all of Islam, you must brand the entire Protestant religion with the acts of the Ku Klux Klan from their height of power in the 1920s to now. Are you ready to do that?  Because there is no difference.  And if any Protestants wanted to build a place of worship in America, what would you say to protestors that were against it because of the past or present actions of the Ku Klux Klan? Think about that and now you know how peaceful, non-extremist Muslims around the world feel about the Islamic Center near Ground Zero.

 

And if you are Catholic and against the building of the Islamic Center/mosque, you really need to stop talking and start reading.  Start reading about how Catholics were persecuted for their beliefs in America. How false rumors spread through entire rural communities perpetuating that Catholics wanted to take over America and put the Pope as governmental leader.  Read about the oft-reported "danger" of Catholics being elected to office. Read this passage from the Loucks book:

 

“In the words of Grand Dragon H.C. Shaw, ‘the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church are fundamentally hostile to the spirits, ideals, and institutions of our Republic,’ which made it unwise to have persons brought up under this doctrine in public office here in America.”

 

And don’t think that the KKK was just a few people in the early 20th century; in Pennsylvania alone in 1925, there were around 200,000 Klansmen, according to the Loucks book. 200,000!

 

To define an entire religion by the violent acts of sick extremists (be they Muslim terrorists or the KKK) is sad and un-American. And if you can’t seem to understand the difference between terrorists who happen to be Islamic and Islam then look to your own religion and history.  To deny an Islamic group the chance to build a mosque near Ground Zero is a slap in the face of the ideals this country was founded on. But if you are not moved by the First Amendment of the Constitution, look to your own history – and start educating yourself  -- before you condemn another religion’s right to practice.

 

 

 

Hear That Siren? That’s the Sound of Socialism in America

If you are extremely wealthy or even merely rich, you can stop reading – this blog will not concern you. If you are not wealthy and favor robust health care reform in the United States that includes a viable public option – this blog will not concern you either.

 

But, if you are not wealthy but still do not favor robust health care reform that includes a public option because it smacks of socialism or “too much government” in your life then please read on.  This blog is about an America in a parallel “non-socialist” universe. Let’s call it Non-Socialist America (NS America).

 

Burning Down the House

In NS America, fire fighting is privatized. So picture that you can’t afford fire protection insurance from the various private fire fighting companies.  Now, your house goes up in flames but even with several private fire fighting houses nearby, no fire trucks come as your house burns to the ground. Paradoxically, your richer neighbor – who does have fire protection insurance – calls his private fire fighters who show up to ensure the flames from your house don’t jump to his house. So, a full service fire fighting outfit watches your house burn to the ground while they ensure your neighbor doesn’t get his lawn slightly singed.  Far-fetched? Not really. Read about how fire fighting in New York City used to be done by fire insurance companies – complete with full looting of the house or apartment building that was on fire.

 

This is 9-1-1: What is your emergency and account number?

Imagine your house is being robbed and when you call 9-1-1 they ask if you are a paying member of the private police force.  In NS America they say: “I’m sorry, sir, but you are not a paying member of our police department. Good luck.” If you sleep better at night knowing the police will respond if you need them to protect your family, welcome to socialism.

 

Tuition for Kindergarten

In this country, it is not uncommon for the hard-working and smart kids of poor folks to excel in public schools and then go on to attend top-tier colleges – many on scholarship. Money for college is out there for students who get solid grades in schools that are primarily supported by the property taxes and – gasp -- funds from the government.  In NS America, what do you think would happen? What do you think would happen if we didn’t have a strong public education program in the United States? You know exactly what would happen: the rich kids would go to the best schools and the lower or even middle-class students would go to low quality schools, if they went to school at all.  For all those that can’t afford to send your kid to private schools from K-12, why would you be against a public option for health care? Doesn’t that smack of at least a tiny bit of hypocrisy?

 

The lower and middle classes and even upper middle class should never take the fire department, police department and public schools -- all government-financed institutions – for granted.  Make no mistake: the rich do not care about you at all. And if these three critical institutions were all privatized in NS America, the rich would continue to sleep comfortably knowing they can afford all three.  But what would happen to you? What would you do?

 

So, if you buy into the security and benefits of publically financed police protection, fire fighting and K-12 education, why is a publically financed health care option such a stretch or so verboten? And you can take it even further – isn’t affordable health care as essential as police, fire and public education to a stable society that gives all of its citizens the chance to flourish.

 

We’ve tried a mostly private health care system in this country for decades and it flat out doesn’t work. Too many people are left behind. Just how many more children have to be without health care before someone steps in?

 

The Collective Stupidity of Humanity

Albert Einstein famously said, “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the former.”  

And even just choosing examples from the United States there never ceases to be a steady flow of evidence to prove Einstein’s Theory of Stupidity. So, as part of a recurring feature at this blog, “enjoy” the latest examples.

Case 1: Cyber Bully conviction

--- Short summary: A 49-year-old mother cyber-bullies a 13-year-old girl in the same town; the teenager then commits suicide.  The mother found guilty of only misdemeanors.

--- The full story here.

--- You don’t have to be Einstein to know that … Only a sorry excuse of a parent could have the myopia and meanness to psychologically bully a teenage girl. Every adult (parent or not) should know how sensitive teenagers are about many aspects of life, including love. Taking advantage of a teenager’s delicate psyche goes well beyond stupid into criminal; this whack-job mother didn’t pull a trigger but she led directly to the teen girl’s death. And for that she deserves jail.  Kudos to California prosecutors for taking the case to court even though the people involved live in Missouri. Reason #567 not to live in Missouri.

 

Case 2: Redefining an “adult”

--- Short summary: An 8-year-old boy confesses to killing his father and a second man with a gun; motive is unknown. Some call for him to be charged as an adult.

--- The full story here.

--- You don’t have to be Einstein to know that … The police force and prosecutors in the exurbs of Phoenix are not exactly competent. The first act of stupidity was how the police handled the case; they reportedly didn’t read the boy his rights and they questioned him without a lawyer or an adult family member present in the room. Can you imagine an 8-year-old alone in a room with guys with guns asking tough questions? As one expert in such matters said in The New York Times, you could get any 8-year-old off the street to confess to that murder. However, the bigger act of stupidity was the suggestion from the same police force that the 8-year-old be charged as an adult. Huh? Are they kidding? And to compound the stupidity, some commentator at FOX News actually defends the case for the boy to be charged as an adult.

 

Case 3: Auto welfare

--- Short summary: The Big Three of the auto industry are in dire straits and need $25 billion of the bailout funds or possibly go bankrupt.

--- The full story here.

--- You don’t have to be Einstein to know that … The chief executives’ decision to take private jets to the congressional hearings to plead for money was more arrogance than stupidity. The real stupidity comes in with how lawmakers and the lobbyists have allowed the auto companies and Big Oil to fight and thwart improved fuel efficiency standards in America. They are shameless. The Big Three auto companies dug their own grave; let them lie in it.  And let the American auto industry rise anew – ready to build a vehicle for the next 100 years.

 

Case 4: Hummers

--- Short summary: Some Americans actually buy huge trucks that cost over $50,000 and get 13 miles to the gallon in the city.

--- The full story here.

--- You don’t have to be Einstein to know that … Anyone buying a Hummer is a knucklehead trying to compensate for something they lack in life, be it hair, self confidence or perceived manhood size. Anyone driving a Hummer is just screaming out for therapy. To Hummer drivers: please buy a normal car and find a therapist fast.

 

Do you take issue with any stances above? Have any examples of human stupidity of your own to share?  Please send a comment below.