Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Political Correctness

Some of the basic principles that this country was founded on...freedom of religion, freedom of speech, to congregate, to bear arms, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and all that good stuff....no where in there does it say that you have the right to live out these freedoms without repercussions, resentment, responsibility or rejection from other people.  I'm not sure when it because the government's job to make sure that not only do you we have those basic rights, but that nobody is allowed to say they disagree.  I'm not sure when it became a bad thing to say NO, I don't want this, I don't like that, I disagree, I think you're *gasp* WRONG.  But somewhere along the lines this is exactly what's happened.

I think the mosque at ground zero is kind of an example of that.  I don't think we're getting down to the average person's real feelings because everybody has been programmed not to offend anybody.  So all we're hearing from are the far left and the far right because the average American, who is usually somewhere in the middle, feels they'll be chastised if they speak out with an opinion that isn't politically correct.

I did not lose anybody in the attacks on 9/11...I don't live in NYC....I don't know, first hand, the local sentiment on the streets there or how the average person who will be there day to day feels about the situation.  I have not read the Koran myself and I don't take anybody's word on what it says.  I've heard how Christians can come up with several interpretations of one verse in the Bible based on their religion, their upbringing, heck....the part of the country they live in!  I expect that the Koran probably gets the same kind of treatment when it comes to interpretations.  There are Christian churches who handle poisonous snakes as a part of their religious practice so it's not like the Bible doesn't get it's own 'out there' interpretations!

At first I was thinking along the lines of  "Live and let live."  Recently, a friend who lives in Brooklyn posted a link to a video that I watched and in it there were several points I had not heard before.  It's not enough to sway me to the speaker's point of view, but it was enough to make me think more about it.  I hear a lot of people tubthumping about the situation but I don't see much in the way of the average person's opinions.  I wonder if many of them are feeling the way I do about it....somewhere between "it's not really my business" and "I'm not really sure what to think."

I do know that if I say I don't want a Mosque near Ground Zero then I'm intolerant, racist and un-American because I don't allow for freedom of religion.  Well, freedom of religion means you're free to practice your religion without persecution....it doesn't mean you get public support, good public opinion, or tolerance.  I know that if I say I support the Mosque at Ground Zero then I'm supporting terrorists who have already bitch slapped the USA, I'm not being considerate enough of the feelings of the families of the victims of 9/11, and I'm un-American because I must not feel the proper amount of outrage over  the 9/11 attacks.  I know that there is no win in this situation and I wonder if that's the average American's outlook these days...