Community Center Near Ground Zero

Over the past couple of weeks, our lunchtime discussions have often included the newest news and updates about the Mosque on Ground Zero.  Basically, the remaining members of the United Notions believe that those building (or more accurately, renovating) the community center have rights to be there.  And then an article came out that some found insightful.

These are my thoughts on the matter:

Hmmm.  I can see what Krauthammer is saying, and I think that, on some level, he has a point.  I liked the following section, especially:

“America is a free country where you can build whatever you want — but not anywhere. That's why we have zoning laws. No liquor store near a school, no strip malls where they offend local sensibilities, and, if your house doesn't meet community architectural codes, you cannot build at all.”

It is true that we can’t build whatever we want wherever we want.  And there are lots of reasons (whether they be financial, environmental, or otherwise) why we can’t build.

I guess my problem, then, lies with the idea of hallowed ground.  Maybe I just lack the reverence that I should have for a piece of land where something happened.  That could definitely be true.  I mean, I understand why there isn’t a “commercial tower over Gettysburg” or a “convent at Auschwitz,” but I don’t necessarily see those pieces of dirt as hallowed. I’m not sure that the land itself is holy and sacred.

And that doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in memorials; I do.  Absolutely.  I think we should remember people who died and respect their memories.  But that doesn’t mean, to me, that construction, prayer, entertainment, eating, or whatever else should necessarily be halted on that acreage.  It seems like a lot of land would just go to waste and a lot of living souls could not thrive because they are concerned about where something horrible took place.

And to take a step back even farther, it seems like there have been so many horrible things happen in the world’s history that most places we live on should be considered hallowed, by Krauthammer’s estimation.  I don’t mean to diminish what happened on 9/11, but is it really so different than other horrible, awful acts that people have committed in the past x-thousand years?

Now I know a lot of this is moot – since it isn’t even a mosque and it isn’t even on Ground Zero.  But I felt compelled to put in my two cents about the article that both Pat and Scott seemed to believe has the most compelling argument for why the community center should not be built.  It looks like the anti- folks need to go back to the drawing board.