The mosque that has been proposed for a location in downtown Manhattan has been causing quite a storm. Here is the controversy as I see it:
Not every opponent who has addressed this issue is a bonehead. Some have deep feelings for the awful events of that day. I think we should respect their feelings. We who support that group of Americans that want to build that facility must explain in a rational way why it should be built.
That building site was on the market for redevelopment for eight years. There were no takers. This group wants to make that derelict real estate into something beautiful and useful to the whole community, in the same way that the 92nd Street Y serves that community. The local neighbors in New York City know these people and a large majority support the building of the complex. Even people who have lost family members when those criminals did their dreadful work support the developers.
I heard a report that 67% of Americans oppose this project, but 67% of all Americans do not live in New York, and their voices are not as important as those who do live there. In any case, that majority, or any majority opinion, does not trump the US Constitution. We profess to live under a guiding law, always, not just when it is convenient to our way of thinking.
As I said when I began, not all opponents are bigots and haters, but some are. We have to resist the ranting of the lunatic fringe, while recognizing that some opponents are not part of that group of haters. George Bush must be given credit for making the distinction between Muslims and terrorists when he was president. My guess is that he would have said something similar to what President Obama said.
Some say why create the tumult of this argument? Why not do what Governor Patterson suggested and do a land swap for another location? Here's why not. When you are in retreat from the forces of bigotry, there is no compromise. As people back you into a corner and you agree to another solution, they are never satisfied. There is no place that you can go that would be satisfactory to those that oppose you. All around the country there are objections to the building of mosques. They are nowhere near "ground zero", so it’s hard for me to buy the argument that retreat would be a good thing. If I were that leader I'd be damned if I'd retreat. Loving this country means supporting the laws that govern us. We can, of course, change the Constitution, but I don't think any of us of sound mind want to live in a country that condones the harassment of any religion or group. We tell people of the world “We’re better than that”. Now let’s live up to our boast.
Ernie Fazio
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
No Little Plans
Those who are critics of this administration's attempts to revive the economy may have a point. Creating jobs that merely put money in the pockets of people who will, make that must, spend it, is short sighted even if it works.
"Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men’s blood!", said Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect (1864-1912). Nothing has changed since those words were spoken. We still need grand dreams to unite us, to motivate us, and to inspire us. But what do we get? "Leaders" who are deathly afraid to lead.
This is not just a failure that is pervasive in government; it is also a failure in the business community. Large businesses do not venture far from what is making money today. Where is their nerve? Where is their imagination? Would we have MRI technology if we waited for GE to invent it? I don’t think so. Would we have the personal computer if we waited for IBM to invent it? These companies did not have imagination nor did they have the entrepreneurial spirit. They may have seen the future coming down the pike, and either ignored it because they thought it wouldn’t work, or they waited until the development is well under way, so they could steal it.
Phil Farnsworth invented the all electronic television that was later stolen by Sarnoff at RCA. Dr. Raymond Damadian, primary inventor of the MRI, fought years to win a patent infringement suit. against GE, Mitsubishi, and others. It was the little guys with big dreams that advanced science.
State and federal governing bodies have shown themselves to be inept at governing in the past several decades. The Republicans are retrograde (they were against women suffrage, civil rights, labor unions right to organize, Medicare, and, ... well, you get it). The Democrats on the other hand have been gutless, and therefore no better. The Dems are just as manipulated as the retrograde party by the corporate interests that fund them, but they talk a better game. So hooray for the Democrats; they sound better.
When the Republicans announce that they will filibuster legislation the Democrats run for the hills. The rest of us wonder why. Many of us had to confront a bully along the way to growing up. One day you turn around and do battle. You take your lumps, or maybe you kick his butt. In either case the bully is likely to seek out a new victim, after all, you just became too much work. The Republicans are bullies too, but no one will confront them.
Do we need a national system of electrical grids to collect and distribute power from all sources to all destinations? Do we need a high speed, national ground transportation system to efficiently move people and freight? Do we need to reform public pensions? Do we need to address shortfalls in Medicare and Social Security? Do we need to ferret out waste and fraud wherever it exists so that we can be a highly completive nation? Do we need to reign in our military so that we don’t war ourselves out of existence? The answers to all of those questions are a resounding yes! The list goes on, but this will do for starters. I think most people are tired of the talk that we hear reported from elected officials in Albany and Washington. Most of what politicians are saying when they speak are well rehearsed bumper sticker type slogans, and they insult our intelligence when they give us those stock, "poll tested" responses.
If ever there was a time when a third party could make a showing, it is now. We may be going there.
"Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men’s blood!", said Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect (1864-1912). Nothing has changed since those words were spoken. We still need grand dreams to unite us, to motivate us, and to inspire us. But what do we get? "Leaders" who are deathly afraid to lead.
This is not just a failure that is pervasive in government; it is also a failure in the business community. Large businesses do not venture far from what is making money today. Where is their nerve? Where is their imagination? Would we have MRI technology if we waited for GE to invent it? I don’t think so. Would we have the personal computer if we waited for IBM to invent it? These companies did not have imagination nor did they have the entrepreneurial spirit. They may have seen the future coming down the pike, and either ignored it because they thought it wouldn’t work, or they waited until the development is well under way, so they could steal it.
Phil Farnsworth invented the all electronic television that was later stolen by Sarnoff at RCA. Dr. Raymond Damadian, primary inventor of the MRI, fought years to win a patent infringement suit. against GE, Mitsubishi, and others. It was the little guys with big dreams that advanced science.
State and federal governing bodies have shown themselves to be inept at governing in the past several decades. The Republicans are retrograde (they were against women suffrage, civil rights, labor unions right to organize, Medicare, and, ... well, you get it). The Democrats on the other hand have been gutless, and therefore no better. The Dems are just as manipulated as the retrograde party by the corporate interests that fund them, but they talk a better game. So hooray for the Democrats; they sound better.
When the Republicans announce that they will filibuster legislation the Democrats run for the hills. The rest of us wonder why. Many of us had to confront a bully along the way to growing up. One day you turn around and do battle. You take your lumps, or maybe you kick his butt. In either case the bully is likely to seek out a new victim, after all, you just became too much work. The Republicans are bullies too, but no one will confront them.
Do we need a national system of electrical grids to collect and distribute power from all sources to all destinations? Do we need a high speed, national ground transportation system to efficiently move people and freight? Do we need to reform public pensions? Do we need to address shortfalls in Medicare and Social Security? Do we need to ferret out waste and fraud wherever it exists so that we can be a highly completive nation? Do we need to reign in our military so that we don’t war ourselves out of existence? The answers to all of those questions are a resounding yes! The list goes on, but this will do for starters. I think most people are tired of the talk that we hear reported from elected officials in Albany and Washington. Most of what politicians are saying when they speak are well rehearsed bumper sticker type slogans, and they insult our intelligence when they give us those stock, "poll tested" responses.
If ever there was a time when a third party could make a showing, it is now. We may be going there.
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