Don't Trample the Constitution

In all this talk about the Mosque or Islamic center or whatever-the-hell-it-actually-is at or near “Ground Zero,” I have heard a lot cry and hue about how “disrespectful” it is for private citizens to want to build this Muslim-whatever on private property.


And before every current, former, and future New Yorker starts yelling at me, yes, yes, yes, I get the point that said private property happens to be really close to where a number of Muslim men flew planes into some heavily occupied buildings murdering thousands of people (including, I would assume, some other Muslims). I understand why people are offended. I get that it may be painful for some survivors of 9/11 to walk by a reminder of the religion of the perpetrators. I am not saying I think it is a good idea (even if the motives of the builders are truly to promote a dialog among people of many faiths and to do some image buffing for Islam).

But, I think that there is a fairly widespread fundamental misunderstanding of how our constitutional freedoms work. You know what I’m talking about, right? Those things like “freedom of religion” and “freedom of speech” and “freedom of association?” There are a number of people calling for, even demanding, a change in the plans to build the Muslim-whatever. And many of the people calling for a change in plans seem to think that just because many (maybe most, who knows?) people oppose the construction of this Muslim-whatever, that it must not happen, that somehow the planners of this Muslim-whatever must kowtow to the demands of the many.

Well, the idea behind our constitutional freedoms is to protect the few from the many. The goal is to ensure that the rights of people who want to say things that are not politically expedient or to hang out with people who may have generally offensive views or to constantly remind other people of a really, really, really bad day are not trampled upon. Sure, the politically correct or the majority (or both if they are one and the same) can then exercise their freedoms to criticize the actions of the few, but our constitutional freedoms are not intended to give the many a billy club that they can use to bludgeon the few into conformity.

Just because most don’t like it, doesn’t mean the few can’t do it. And, let’s face it: unless there is some zoning or other law that prohibits it, the planners of the Muslim-whatever are free to build it wherever they want, even if their express purpose is plant a huge freaking flag of Islamic victory over the infidel U.S. smack in the middle of one of the most inappropriate sites possible. What would be far more offensive would be for the majority to use the long arm of the law to prohibit the few from doing something completely legal simply because it is offensive.

So, I wish folks would do me a favor and stop implying that our constitutional freedoms somehow mean that the planners of the Muslim-whatever are obligated to stop doing whatever they’re doing. Instead, everyone interested should feel free to express their opinions, no matter how mainstream or non-PC, and everyone should continue to debate the issue. Just don’t expect plans to change simply because you express your opinion.