Tuesday, August 17

From the Angle I Am at Now

On my way to the city, again heard the news on the planned mosque near ground zero and how some are against the idea. I don’t know. Maybe it was the heavy traffic. But this time around, instead of shrugging the news off – in one ear and out the other – I actually dwelled on it. And two other topics that I’ve avoided taking a stand on.

So, from the angle I am at now – who knows if the angle will change – am taking this bold step to state my stand:

On the mosque. Line from the news that called my attention “… religious freedom is one of the foundations of our democracy.”

Agree. We cannot be against all things “mosque” based on a sweeping generalization that all Muslims kill others and self in the name of and for Allah. We are not our religion nor our god. Wouldn’t it be a great thing though if we were? Allah, God, Jehovah, Yahweh, etc, etc, etc. These names supposedly stand for all things good. So, if we are our religion, if we are true to what our gods stand for, there should be no killing. There should be no ground zero. The perpetrators of ground zero are human beings, first and foremost, before they are Muslims.

What I am interested to find out though are: how near is the nearest mosque to ground zero? What makes ground zero an ideal location for a new mosque? In other words, why a mosque … now … at ground zero? Maybe these parts of the news I missed.

On the death penalty. Ok. Here, my religiosity comes in. I am not the source of life; therefore, I have no right to take life. Is life imprisonment not enough? What can be worse punishment than spending life in prison? I just hope that we can think of something fast though to make sure we don’t have more convicts than prison cells.

On same sex marriage. Maybe it’s the word “marriage” that throws me off balance. Hey, I’m that way. And I will move and live in with a partner when the right one comes along. But I don’t think I’ll ever drag marriage into the picture. Marriage is way older than me. Thus, I choose to respect its heritage and legacy.

Rights and privileges of married couples? Call me plain and simple stupid, but won’t living and/or last will and testaments address this concern? Ulk.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really have to look up more on the Mosque. I agree about religious tolerance. Not all Muslims supported 9/11 nor want to kill us. However, the biggest question about this is: Why build it so close to Ground Zero? But I have to look through both sides of this issue before making a conclusion about this.

As for the Death Penality, I really don't know. I really depends on the crime but still, taking a life for a person is just too much, in my opinion. Life imprisonment should be enough suffering.

As for same-sex marriage, it is really more about religion and tradition of marriages. Other than that, marriages should be all about love.If two people of the same-sex are in love, why not marry?

SAM said...

Yes, I guess that's where I get stuck. The thought of marriage as a a religious institution, a sacrament. Or even marriage as a "contract" giving couples rights and privileges. In this sense, marriage as a symbol of blessing, acceptance, and even status -- this I don't find necessary. The romantic notion of marriage; marriage as a symbol of two becoming one, of commitment, of forever after -- this I like. And then I think about heterosexual couples like Sam Shephard & Jessica Lange (27 yrs), Kurt Russel & Goldie Hawn (26 yrs), and Gene Simmons & Shannon Tweed (20 yrs). The individuals in those relationships, they are the ones who have made the relationship flourish. Not marriage. So I thought, why bother? Why drag marriage into the picture? Of course, that's just me ... for myself.

SAM said...

Hey torchic. Check out this blog. Stumbled upon it yesterday. It's a reading pleasure: http://imerika.wordpress.com/. How about you? Do you have a blog?