One notion floated over my vacation that I wanted to respond to is Jonathan Bernstein's argument that the controversy over Park51 doesn't matter. I can see why he would think that. During the last decade, we've seen an ever-increasing cycle of cultural tempests. The paradigmatic examples would be the Elian Gonzales case or the Terry Schiavo imbroglio, though smaller examples of the phenomenon occur more regularly. Generally the story is elevated by the right-wing alternative media, driven by a lurid stew of half-truths and wild speculation that seems to reveal in the minds of the conservative base some deeply sinister trait on the part of whoever happens to be leading the Democratic Party at any given moment. The conservatives agitated over the episode will act as though the fate of the world hinges upon the outcome of the drama, but eventually the poisonous cloud of outrage evaporates into thin air.
The Park51 episode shares many of these characteristics. (Witness this outpouring of rage against by an anti-mosque crowd against a random, non-Muslim black man wearing a skullcap who happened to walk by.) But I believe there are also two larger issues at stake. The first is that this drama is laying down a marker about the place of Muslims in American society. The question is whether they should be presumed to be terrorists unless proven otherwise -- hence the constant, suspicious demands to find out where the money behind the putatively innocent project is coming from -- or whether they should be afforded the same general presumption of innocence enjoyed by other religions.
The second question is about laying the groundwork for Republican foreign policy for the next GOP presidential administration. George W. Bush pursued a policy of attempting to divide the mass of the Muslim world from the dangerous and radical hard core, reassuring and praising the former while opposing the latter. President Obama has pursued the same policy, adding onto it the personal touch of using his identity and unique history to dramatize the same basic message. The Park51 episode has become a proxy fight on this question among Republicans, many of whom see the foreign policy struggle as a clash of civilizations between Islam and Christianity/Judaism.
I suspect that Park51 will either not be built or will eventually be built away from its proposed location. But the legacy of this latest cultural tempest, unlike previous ones, will have a lasting impact.
Muslims?? You can't even be a Black guy in somewhat imaginative dress, apparently.
Muslims?? You can't even be a Black guy in somewhat imaginative dress, apparently.
Jon,
I agree with you completely on this issue. That said, I'd like to add another reason why the Park51 issue matters. Many Americans are descendants of people belonging to ethno-religious groups who suffered through many of the bigoted stereotypes now on display [e.g., Irish, Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jews,...]. To me, the debate over Park51 goes beyond foreign policy: it strikes at the heart of what it means to me to be an American and why our liberalism is better than the fundamentalism of the enemies whom we fight.
What is so distressing to me is that many of the opponents understand this, and yet still publish stuff that is in its bare essence a search for language that both celebrate ... view full comment
Jon,
I agree with you completely on this issue. That said, I'd like to add another reason why the Park51 issue matters. Many Americans are descendants of people belonging to ethno-religious groups who suffered through many of the bigoted stereotypes now on display [e.g., Irish, Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jews,...]. To me, the debate over Park51 goes beyond foreign policy: it strikes at the heart of what it means to me to be an American and why our liberalism is better than the fundamentalism of the enemies whom we fight.
What is so distressing to me is that many of the opponents understand this, and yet still publish stuff that is in its bare essence a search for language that both celebrates this liberalism while at the same time redefine it so as to stay on the right side of the angry majority. It is impossible. Our fundamental code, our DNA, is to side with the unpopular. This is why events such as the internment of the Japanese in WWII remain shameful to us.
Of course, we are not interning Muslims. But they are an easy target for slander, and as the video you show, raw violent emotion. If being American means anything, if the wars we fight take on any significance whatsoever, then at the very least we can learn from our mistakes, follow our laws, and stop extrapolating the most monstrous elements of the Muslims into the whole. And then we can move on from this ugly debate and focus on jobs.
Meanwhile, over at The Spine, Herr Peretz keeps stirring the pot and fanning the fire.
Meanwhile, over at The Spine, Herr Peretz keeps stirring the pot and fanning the fire.
So, the next time some fanatic Muslim suicide bomber kills (or attempts to kill) Americans, can I directly blame Newt Gingrich, Fox News et al for inciting him? Because that's where this is headed very hard, very fast.
So, the next time some fanatic Muslim suicide bomber kills (or attempts to kill) Americans, can I directly blame Newt Gingrich, Fox News et al for inciting him? Because that's where this is headed very hard, very fast.
wildboy: perhaps, but better yet, you can certainly blame that fracas in the video clip to which Jon refers on the vile Gingrich.
wildboy: perhaps, but better yet, you can certainly blame that fracas in the video clip to which Jon refers on the vile Gingrich.
lots of jobs to be created building internment camps for "re-education" of 60% of Americans who acknowledge the Constitution and legal rights of the Park51 crew, but still think they have already failed in their mission to promote healing and interfaith dialogue. Not sure how you re-educate the NYC cynics who know Park51 is yet another Manhattan real estate development amateur hour. Or how you re-educate all the American Muslims embarrassed by this one Imam who solely seeks to advance his personal ambition at the expense of other Muslims.
lots of jobs to be created building internment camps for "re-education" of 60% of Americans who acknowledge the Constitution and legal rights of the Park51 crew, but still think they have already failed in their mission to promote healing and interfaith dialogue. Not sure how you re-educate the NYC cynics who know Park51 is yet another Manhattan real estate development amateur hour. Or how you re-educate all the American Muslims embarrassed by this one Imam who solely seeks to advance his personal ambition at the expense of other Muslims.
K2K, it is not about this Imam. It is about us. And as far as the embarrassed American Muslims go, perhaps you would wish to read [or re-read] "Chutzpah" by Alan Dershowitz, who had really good advice for American Jews constantly embarrassed by their leadership making noise.
K2K, it is not about this Imam. It is about us. And as far as the embarrassed American Muslims go, perhaps you would wish to read [or re-read] "Chutzpah" by Alan Dershowitz, who had really good advice for American Jews constantly embarrassed by their leadership making noise.
K2K, not all of the opponents of the mosque "acknowledge the constitution and the legal rights of the park51 crew"- I'd bet it's actually less than half. YOu may be being generous because your are in that minority. We have municipalities all over the country working to ban mosques and generally make life unpleasant for muslims, and just check out the video linked above, not to mention the firebombing and threats of violence.
Granting your take on Rauf (his most controversial public statements would be a slow day for Limbaugh and Beck, btw), it really doesn't necessarily justify a lot of the opposition- again, not personal to you, as I noted you are a local and a real sense and are not acting ... view full comment
K2K, not all of the opponents of the mosque "acknowledge the constitution and the legal rights of the park51 crew"- I'd bet it's actually less than half. YOu may be being generous because your are in that minority. We have municipalities all over the country working to ban mosques and generally make life unpleasant for muslims, and just check out the video linked above, not to mention the firebombing and threats of violence.
Granting your take on Rauf (his most controversial public statements would be a slow day for Limbaugh and Beck, btw), it really doesn't necessarily justify a lot of the opposition- again, not personal to you, as I noted you are a local and a real sense and are not acting bigoted, BUT many people who also oppose park51 are neither.
But, granting your take. The fact that one could point to individual interracial couples in 1965 who were, say, tax cheats, or bigamists, or had unsavory sexual habits, would in no way justify the level of bigotry they faced as a class.
There's an unacceptable level of bigotry against muslims right now. Whether Rauf and Park51 are good Rosa Parks-type poster children is irrelevant to that fact.
One more thing K2K: your whining victimized language about internment camps and re-education reeks and is unfortunately representative of those with a weak argument.
Perhaps there are only 30% of us who think that this debate should never have taken place. Fine. But I find it both pathetic and hilarious that those who stand with the Governor of AZ in enforcing the law also call for ignoring the law in NYC, and vice-versa for leftists for whom America is not great. Me, I refuse to punish AZ for merely trying to enforce current law which is in its residents' best interests. I also refuse to skirt our fundamental rights granted to all citizens just to fete the emotions of the majority.
Read Full Article »