By Jonathan Clarke
Frenzy over the so-called Ground Zero Mosque has brought about a departure from reason and a break with American principles.
 
For two consecutive summers, I spent college breaks working for a major consulting firm on the 100th floor of 1 World Trade Ctr. Seeing that building reduced to shards of jagged metal and concrete September 11, 2001 had as visceral an impact on me as anyone else. To be sure, my sense of dread and despair never could approach that of survivors and victims’ families. Still, the terrorist attack in Lower Manhattan was very much a personal experience.
 
That said, I find absolutely no plausible rationale - constitutionally, morally, ethically or otherwise - to deny a group of Muslim-AMERICANS the opportunity to construct a community center with a prayer room two and a half blocks from the site of that horrific event. And talk of finding a compromise site further away is disgraceful.

 
There’s nothing inappropriate about paying proper deference to 9/11 victims’ memory and the place where they perished. But what greater tribute could we erect to their legacy than to hew even more closely to our rule of law and principles? By supporting the construction of an Islamic facility near Ground Zero, we show the world that the terrorists’ worst efforts could not defeat America’s love of democracy and sense of right.
 
Aren’t we the ones who in the wake of the attack said change nothing about your routine, doing so means the terrorists win? Why was that mantra so great when it came to selling cars but disposable when it comes to religious freedoms? 
 
Americans are reasonable folks. And the first reasonable act is to step back from the hype, misinformation and politically charged nomenclature to call this what it is. It is not a Ground Zero Mosque - no more than are Trinity Church and John Street United Methodist Church Ground Zero Churches due to their close proximity to the World Trade Center site. 
 
Sure, the facility would sit in Ground Zero's shadow, but those were gargantuan buildings. How far should the ghosts of their shadows extend? Would ten blocks be better, perhaps a quarter mile? Employing the opposition's logic about sensitivity and hallowed ground, one could reason that no new Muslim facilities or mosques be constructed in any of Lower Manhattan. 
 
Smoke and debris from the attack didn’t stop two and a half blocks from the Twin Towers. It extended for block after city block. The chaos reverberated in those places as the injured, confused and dazed fled into nearby neighborhoods. Are those locations a mile or two away also hallowed ground? You could reason a mosque doesn’t belong there either. Couldn’t you? 
 
Does that sound absurd? Perhaps, but where do you draw the line? When you permit geography to trump The U.S. Constitution where do you stop? 
 
Moreover, as a Christian-AMERICAN, I'm amazed, chagrined and horrified that so much of the opposition to this "mosque" is coming from folks who consider themselves Christians. These brothers and sisters of mine lack historical perspective and foresight. If only they would see that the same USS Sanctimonious pulling them into port is armed with precisely the same artillery that can someday be used to dismantle their efforts to erect houses of worship in places they see fit. 
 
Religious intolerance knows no boundaries. Do Christians honestly believe the same type of rhetorical dynamite they're hurling at this place of prayer can't in turn be flung in their direction at Our Lady of Peace, or 1st Baptist Church of Bumblebee or Roundtheway Assembly of God? 
 
A little intellectual honesty will go a long way here. 
 
While we're being honest, let's see this as it clearly is. This is a political tactic intended to rile a segment of the voting population, distract them from those topics which are germane (remember jobs, the oil spill, immigration, Afghanistan?) and win elections. No more, no less. 
 
And let's remember one more thing while we're sipping on honest-tea: Muslims did not fly planes into the World Trade Center on that bright and horrid September morning; FANATICS did. They were crazed, confused, mislead and misguided FANATICS. They were no different than fanatics who used high-powered rifles with scopes to gun down abortion doctors and happened to call themselves Christians. 
 
The September 11th murderers were terrorist-fanatics, not Muslims. The abortion doctor killers are terrorist-fanatics, not Christians. And if you insist on calling them that, then understand that's not what being a Christian means to me. 
 
I'd even cringe at calling that American.

 
-Jonathan Clarke
 
Jonathan Clarke is a two-time Emmy Award nominee and Owner & Chief Consultant of The Clarke Groupe, a St. Louis, Missouri media and communications company specializing in corporate video production, media training and strategic message development. Mr. Clarke has more than 20 years of communications experience on and off air in television news, TV & Radio broadcasting, production and public relations.  Follow Jonathan's blog at couldntkeepit.wordpress.com. You can write to him at: jonclarkewrites@gmail.com