I have posted before about how I think the right-wing rage on the muslim community center being built a few blocks from where the twin towers once stood is nothing more than an issue of religious freedom. And religious freedom, like other freedoms, is not something you can have just a little bit of -- you either have it or you don't.
The fact is that most right-wingers, while they proclaim their love for the Constitution and for religious freedom, do not really love either. There idea of political freedom is to demonize anyone who disagrees with them, and for religious freedom is to have the "freedom" to force there own religion on everyone else.
You cannot have religious freedom where you can change or censor whatever "offends" you. That's not freedom. True religious freedom gives ALL religions equal rights, and that includes the right of muslims to build a community center anywhere the law would allow another religion (like christianity) to build one -- regardless of who is offended.
Yesterday, I received the following missive from the great Texas progressive, David Van Os. I thought it was good enough to pass it on to my readers (and I agree with every word of it). Here is what Mr. Van Os had to say:
fuck i like this guy.
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