Betrayed Park51 Sarah Palin Newt Gingrich Betrayed Ground Zero Mosque tags Middlebrow

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Posted by Joshua Montgomery on August 14, 2010 at 4:58 p.m.

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Betrayed Again by the Right

During the first few months after 9-11, our nation had a choice. We could treat the terrorists behind the attack as criminals, capture them, put them on trial and execute the guilty, or we could engage in an ideological war between freedom in the west and religious oppression in the east.

As a nation, we chose to enter into a war of ideals. Though this may not have been the best decision, it is the one we are now stuck with....pursuing a war of ideology with radicals. A war where a smile and a Hershey bar is as much of a tool as a 500 Lb JDAM.

In this war we represent the ideals of our society. Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, equality for everyone, universal education and, above all, freedom to worship as you see fit.

In their opposition to the proposed mosque at 51 Park, leaders of the right wing have betrayed our cause by betraying our values. By opposing the construction of a venue of religious worship leaders like Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin provide ammunition for the enemy. They provide the enemy with evidence that the west is not egalitarian and free. They allow the enemy to paint us as a Christian nation dedicated to the destruction of Islam.

In their betrayal of our ideals, these leaders betray our cause. They are no better than the soldiers at Abu-Grhraib, the alleged traitor Bradley Manning or the convicted war criminal Pfc. Steven D. Green. In some ways they are worse. While the soldiers of Abu-Grhraib were under orders, Palin, Gingrich and the rest are simply drumming up an issue for their own personal and political gain.

It was to my great relief that the commander in chief stood up yesterday to repudiate the intolerance and bigotry of the right wing. Hopefully this action demonstrates to the world and to Muslims everywhere that we take our commitment to freedom seriously.

Every time our leaders betray our values by trampling on personal freedoms, imposing their religion and acting with bigotry and hatred, they betray our cause and give succor to the enemy.

Update August 23rd - Protests over mosque at ground zero create Jihadist propaganda bonanza. http://tinyurl.com/34s3yuy