What If Everybody...

I chose to spend my Labor Day at home just relaxing given the very emotional weekend that has passed.
(A funeral for a remarkable 18-year old is not how I wanted to spend my Sunday. So sad.)

I took a bit of time today to go on Facebook and catch up with some friends of mine I have been neglecting. While on Facebook, I noticed the following status update:

"After spending much of my labor day morning looking at footage from the 9/11 terror attacks, I say again: 'No Mosque in Murfreesboro.'" 


It instantly caught my eye. Right away I noticed that the update came from one of the youth I work with in our statewide youth organization. For the record, he is 17.


The debate that followed his statement was fascinating. You have to imagine that there are five or six teenagers/young adults (age 17 - 19) engrossed in this discussion. There was a myriad of comments and accusations thrown around. Let me just highlight some of them for you:

• "Saying 'No Mosque in Murfreesboro' does not portray hatred for any religion."  
• [Building the mosque] "will jeopardize the safety of the community and/or damage property values surrounding it."
• "Building a mosque in your town is a market killer."
• [Muslims] "are trying to take foot in our major cities, and change our way of life..."
• "I believe that the Muslim religion was created out of hatred..."
• "A lot of peaceful mosques have been turned into military style buildings."
• "Muhammad, in my opinion, was an evil pedophile (by all accounts)..."

Just a quick note - NONE of the above comments were my own. In actuality, I got extremely heated at the comments being made. I held out as long as I could in their discussion, but I have never been one to back down from intolerance. I basically wrote an essay detailing how everyone needed to stop, take a breath, settle down, and think about what they are saying. I also went on to correct statements about the building of a mosque causing property values to plummet and Islam's origins coming from hatred. Those were the two statements that really got my blood boiling. 

I was respectful in how I wrote my response. Remember...these are 17-19 year olds who each have their own strong opinions, and I wanted them to know that they were entitled to their opinions. That is part of the beauty of the United States, the Constitution, and our Bill of Rights. I did ask them to think about some of the accusations they were making. Specifically, I asked them to refrain from making outlandish comments about religions they have not studied or know anything about. (One of them told me he had studied ancient cultures, but I doubt the validity of his claim given some of his comments about Islam.) 

All in all, the debate finally subsided after my comments. There was one rogue teenager (who didn't even live in Murfreesboro but had to weigh in his opinions) who wanted to get the last word in. He thanked me for my comments and then respectfully disagreed with me on some points. I left it at that. I was just happy to see the discussion ending. 

It is remarkable to me that the debate over the building of a new mosque in Murfreesboro has gotten such national attention. Let's be honest about a few things :

1. This is not a new incoming mosque to the city. A mosque has been there for over 20 years. The leaders of that mosque feel that it is time to build a larger building to accommodate all the families moving into the area. Their current building is extremely inadequate. No one has ever set forth a debate on their mosque in over 20 years. Do people not realize that the debate over the new mosque being built did not hit the airwaves until the proposed mosque near Ground Zero came into light. 
2. The plans for the mosque have already been approved, and work is beginning. What is the point of protesting something that has already begun?
3. Most of these extremist views seem to come from people who have no working knowledge of Islam whatsoever. 
4. Extremists are using the memory and pain of September 11 to instill fear in people just to further their cause. 
5. Most of the extremists protesting the building of these mosques have probably never met a practicing Muslim. 

In my profession, it angers me when people try to instill their fear and prejudices on others. It is sad that parents are teaching kids to fear and hate others unlike themselves. 

How can we be the nation for all who come here when there are those teaching intolerance for people different from themselves? When will it stop? 

After I finished in the above debate, I needed to calm down. Instantly, I turned to music. I needed something that was going to slow my pulse, lower my increasing blood pressure, and give me hope for the future of this world? 

Found it! 

What if everybody reached out with one hand. 

What if everybody sang with just one voice

Maybe we could change things

What if everybody cared with just one heart

What if everybody tried to light one spark

Maybe we could change things

THINK ABOUT IT!

Note: The pictures of the Twin Towers are video footage from the bombing attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 when a truck bomb was detonated in the parking garage below the North Tower.