With Courage
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 10:46AM 
On Saturday's broadcast we covered a number of important issues ranging from Freedom of Religion to education. One of the recurring themes that's been coming up both on and off-air lately, is the idea that people in leadership, both in the media & in the political realm are taking advantage of the fears & insecurities of the American people in a time of economic crisis, in order to advance their own narrow interests.
There is definitely a victimization of average people at play. But that victimization does not just apply to those who are used as the angry hands of powerful interests - it also applies to the people who those hands reach out to hurt. Early last week I shared a video of protesters in Manhattan accosting a man whom they believed to be Muslim. The level of anger & the potential for violence was stunning, particularly for a scene in New York City in 2010. This is not Mississippi of the 1950s. Some folks will claim that the protesters were caught up in a wave of righteous indignation at the apparent affront of the Park 51 Cultural Center being built 2 1/2 blocks away from Ground Zero. But when you see that video it is apparent that there's more than just an appeal for cultural sensitivity at play here...
For my first video this week, I'm calling out the bigots for who they are, and exploring how the same rhetoric that is being used to challenge the rights of Muslim Americans today, has been used time and again to oppress others, from the Irish, to African-Americans to Jews. Our nation has come too far to allow the seed of bigotry to ever flourish in America again. We need to reach out to and stand up for our brothers & sisters of all faiths, colors and creeds and we need to do so With Courage. Watch the video below and spread the word.
Peace.
Freedom of Religion, Ground Zero Mosque, Park 51, bigotry, racism
Reader Comments (1)
After the holocaust of the second world war,the Catholic church wanted to build a Convent near Auschwitz (Concentration camp in Poland).The Jews protested it in a letter addressed to the pope who was then Pope John Paul II.The pope in his address of the issue aborted the plans for the building.The question arises,if the Catholic church had no right to build anywhere they wanted?The answer lies in the fact that,the church realized the pain and experience of the Jewish people and did not want to stoke that memory of tragedy.
The Moslems do have a right to site a building as close as park 51 itself and as far as Arizona.The memories of 9/11 should at least tell them to quit such moves.It won't help their faith and will only keep the pain of those who lost their loved ones.