AS A NEW YORKER, I STAND ACCUSED AND CONVICTED – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  We are terrible people here.  How do I know?  The leftist think tank, the Center for American Progress, says so.  From the Weekly Standard: 

The quote from the Center for American Progress:

"...let the rest of us understand this: The debate over the Ground Zero Mosque is, in fact, a debate over American values. Those who oppose it don’t have them."

The numbers from Quinnipiac:

New York City voters oppose 52 - 31 percent a proposal by a Muslim group to build a mosque and cultural center two blocks from Ground Zero, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Another 17 percent are undecided.

The mosque at Ground Zero has become a major national story.  If 52 percent of New York City voters, among the country's most liberal, oppose the mosque, I could only imagine what the feelings are in, say, Kentucky.  And Ground Zero is not just a New York site.  It's a national shrine.

The debate over the mosque is healthy, yet ugly.  The usual suspects, of course – the political class, the First Amendment absolutists, the "progressive" left – are perfectly fine with the mosque.  Why, approving it underlines their intellectualism, their rationality, their understanding, their love for "the other."

But most people, me included, oppose the mosque.  As Sarah Palin said, in a few eloquent words, "It tears at the heart."  Of course, language like that is ridiculed by the fashion plates of the wine and Brei crowd.

The reason it tears at the heart is a simple matter of respect.  We will of course defend the right of law-abiding Muslims to worship in America.  But just as Muslims demand respect, they must show it to others, and, sadly, some Muslim groups fail that test.  A mosque should not be built at Ground Zero because we were attacked by Muslim extremists on September 11, 2001, and the mosque will be seen, perhaps unfairly, as an "in your face" expression of Muslim presence and even dominance.  Sometimes respect is shown by just bowing out and saying, "I understand."   Relatives of Ground Zero victims are still mourning, and their approval should be sought before any Muslim institution is built near the funeral pyre that Ground Zero became.

This is a case, like many cases, where the people are wiser than the political class, but the political class refuses to listen.

August 3, 2010