Then there is another side which affirms the right, according to the Constitution, to build there but, given the circumstances of what took place there, looks for a conversation and dialogue to develop over the wisdom of such an endeavor and how to calm the mass hysteria that seems to have taken over. In the Christian Biblical sense we say that "all things permissible, but not all things are beneficial" (1 Corinthians 10:23). Certainly this project is permissible, but is it beneficial to the community at this time?
The other headline grabbing story of the week is this Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally being held today, the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Beck is holding his rally, which includes former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as a keynote addressor, on the same steps that MLK Jr gave his famous speech. Despite the fact I don't buy into the notion that the tea party movement is racist, one once again wonders if perception and sensitivity were thought of at all. One comes away thinking it wasn't and that this is symptomatic of the American experiment, or the "American Dream."
The 1st Amendment of the Constitution grants us the right(s) to freedom of religion and assembly (among other things). Something I have seemed to notice more and more lately is that in America we become spoiled. Not just by material riches, but also by our freedoms. In essence we are spoiled 1st Amendment brats. In the case of the Park 51 project the side that wins out is the one demanding "their right" to do what they want, whatever they want, however they want, wherever they want. It's the same me-first attitude that lands a country, a people, in trouble by leaving the greater community behind. Those who demand an Islamic Cultural Center/Mosque near Ground Zero have little to no regard for the sensitivity of the issue, for the greater community, regardless of idiots, real or imagined, on the "other side." It isn't even about the fact that it is an Islamic endeavor, it's about how it affects the community, and that point keeps getting lost.
Then down in DC you have a group of patriotic Americans who see it as "divine providence" and/or certainly "their right" to fight for what makes America great. Limited government is probably a good thing, I've never really experienced it so I wouldn't know. But it gets weird and semi creepy when the "American Dream" and the conservative Republican political agenda/platform are then wrapped up into what God wants. I am not too aware of who this "God," or god, is. I say god, because I do not believe the American "god" is the living God, Yahweh. The American god is a me-first (me as in the human individual) god who runs amok economically or socially. It's the same god that demands "my rights" first and foremost above what's actually beneficial for the greater community. It's the same god that violates another 1st, namely the 1st Commandment.
Beck, in his rally, invoked God and how America needed to get back to God. Consider this quote from Yahoo:
"Beck exhorted the crowd to "recognize your place to the creator. Realize that he is our king. He is the one who guides and directs our life and protects us." He asked his audience to pray more. "I ask, not only if you would pray on your knees, but pray on your knees but with your door open for your children to see," he said."
One might argue this sounds like a good idea. Only problem with that is the speaker is a Mormon, a believer in a false god himself, and in the context of this rally it invokes the false god of America that champions economical disparity, wasteful consumption, and dangerous selfishness. Folks would argue that a right America would correct these things, and we can return to our great heyday when America was tops and God was happy. To be certain, God raises all countries, nations, people, and governments. But God also squashes them. Our "rights" the government grants to us on a piece of paper are very nice, very good for civil society. But if the Christian is not careful, they can become enthralled with the god of America and a me-first always attitude that neglects our neighbor. And not the God who declared the first would be last and the last first, and that the poor in spirit are blessed because theirs is the reign of heaven, and that the meek are blessed because they will inherit the earth, and not the God who went to the cross on our behalf and rose from the grave victorious. In a lot of instances we replace the 1st Commandment with the 1st Amendment declaring, "I can do whatever I want."
Care about the civil realm, care about America, care about what is being built in your neighborhood. But remember, "All things permissible, but not all things beneficial."
