Xchoboomer

Last week Obama weighed in on the mosque near ground zero at a political event of Muslim leaders. I initially cringed when I heard the story but when I listened to what he was actually saying I did not have any problem with it. I figured it would be just a 24-hour news day cycle and be gone. I guess people took this to heart and he had to expand on his statements over the weekend which made me feel even more comfortable about what he said. It’s now mid-week and this is snowballing into an all out blitzkrieg on the Obama Administration and more importantly, the Democratic party, as we near mid-term elections. I can’t understand why except to conclude that Americans are idiots. Idiots who don’t understand the basic principles that founded this country and can not even comprehend their own language, yes, plain old English.

The Pilgrims first came to this country to escape religious prosecution and our founding fathers amended the Constitution to insure religious freedoms by creating the Bill of Rights. For those who don’t seem to understand what the Bill of Rights are, they are the first ten amendments to the U.S Constitution. How ironically,  it is the second amendment that gives us the right to bear arms. Oh now it rings a bell. Must be kind of like selective hearing. Even more importantly than our right to bear arms is our right to religious freedom, speech, press, assembly, and petition. The very first amendment contains the language that insures this:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Flash forward about 220 years later and in todays context and you can interpret this to mean Muslims can build (or expand in this case)  a Mosque 4 blocks from ground zero. Is it in bad taste, hell yes. But, do they have the right. According to the fundamental principles that this country was founded upon, yes. Ground zero may be hallowed ground.But even so they have the absolute right. The same things that make our country great are the same things that our salt in our wounds.

So to watch the Republicans try to snowball this and derail Obama and the Democrats this November is just disgusting to me. They are preying on the emotions and in some cases the ignorance of Americans. If people can listen to what Obama is actually saying they are consistent in what all Americans should believe.  It is what we celebrate the fourth of July for. It is what our soldiers are overseas fighting and dying for.  Here is what a snippet of what he said in context:

That is not to say that religion is without controversy. Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities – particularly in New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. The pain and suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.

But let me be clear: as a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are. The writ of our Founders must endure.

We must never forget those who we lost so tragically on 9/11, and we must always honor those who have led our response to that attack – from the firefighters who charged up smoke-filled staircases, to our troops who are serving in Afghanistan today. And let us always remember who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for. Our enemies respect no freedom of religion. Al Qaeda’s cause is not Islam – it is a gross distortion of Islam. These are not religious leaders – these are terrorists who murder innocent men, women and children. In fact, al Qaeda has killed more Muslims than people of any other religion – and that list of victims includes innocent Muslims who were killed on 9/11.

Since no one seems to understands English anymore and took that as an endorsement to build a mosque near ground zero, Obama had to clarify his statements to those vocabulary challenged. This is in no way, shape or form a contradiction or a retraction of his earlier statements.

I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That’s what our country is about. And I think it’s very important, as difficult as some of these issues are, that we stay focused on who we are as a people and what our values are all about.

As is typical of Obama, the words are precise and if people can get over the emotional ties for just one minute and comprehend the words that are coming out of his mouth and what he is inferring I see no reason why these statements should inflict an emotional reaction that will yields Democratic seats this November. Unfortunately they most likely will because of these American idiots who don’t understand their own language!