Religious Freedom

I cooked all day today for a sick neighbor.  Chicken and dumplings and peach crumble.  Lots of time to think and pray. I thought about a lot of things.  The one thing I thought about a lot, was the discussion and goings on around our country concerning the Muslim community center to be built in New York. 

I am very concerned for our country.  This is not a path our country should be taking.  No religious group should ever be singled out and shunned.  Our country was started because certain religious groups were shunned.  Religious freedom started the exodus from England to the New World. It continues today from other countries.  Persecution of religious groups is not to be tolerated, period.

A neighbor of mine recently described the allowing of a Muslim built community center to be a "poke in the eye".  Really, a poke in the eye?  That is pretty drastic.  I am thinking a poke in the eye is an action of intent to inflict physical pain and disfigurement.  Somehow, I don't think a community center has that intent.  But hey, that must be just me.  I just kept my mouth shut and filed it under ignorance.  One cannot argue peacefully with an ignorant person who is unwilling to listen and reason.  No matter how much wine either party has consumed!

I remember how wrong it was to shun Catholics, Jews, and Mormons even as a young girl.  People did it all the time. Many of my family members did it.  Marrying someone not of your religion was considered a mixed marriage.  Some things have changed for the good.  But this Muslim thing has me a bit sad and angry.  Muslims are being terrorized and shunned because of the actions of a few.

When Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, and Michael Fortier bombed the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, their religious faith was not shunned.  Christian churches were not told they could not build in certain locations.  Why?  Because they did not embody the Christian religion in their actions.  They chose to use terrorist violence to show their disdain for our country. They should not be tolerated.

The way I see it, Muslims were not embodied in the actions of September 11, 2001.  It was a political group called Al Quaeda who chose to use terrorist violence to show their disdain for our country and disdain for Jews. They have no affiliation to a country, so they do it in the name of Islam.  That does not mean all Muslims are members of Al Quaeda.  Just a very, very small group who have tarnished the name of Muslims all over the world, especially here in the United States.  They should not be tolerated.

The way I see it, Christians are not embodied in the actions of Skin Heads, the KKK, or Neo Nazis.  They are political groups who have no affiliation with a country. They have chosen to show their disdain for non white, non Christians by terrorist violence in the name of Christianity.  Just a very, very, small group who have tarnished the name of Christians in the United States.  These groups should not be tolerated.

The way I see it, Nazis did the same thing.  They had no affiliation with a religious group or country.  So, they decided to try and create their own country to justify their disdain for Jews and non white people as they committed horrific acts of terrorism.  They tarnished those who were not Jewish and white. This group should not be tolerated.

We cannot allow our country to be overtaken by religious intolerance. If we do, we will be just like others who have terrorized and shunned religious groups.  We will fail as a country.  Our country was not based on religious intolerance.

Things I like to do..........

Kiss my husband...Walk on a beach...Taste frosting...Pet the cat...
Swim in a pool all by myself...Watch sunsets...Knead bread dough...
Rock my babies...Laugh with my sisters...Drink champagne...
Listen to blues music...Cook for my family and friends...Read...
Smoke cigars...Road trips...Watch Christmas movies...Paint furniture...
Kiss the heads of my grand children...Take food pictures...
Sit in DFW watching people...Shop for gifts...
Drink coffee...Walk in the woods...Listening as it snows...
Get ice cream at 10pm...Drive a golf cart...Write...
Watch a thunderstorm roll in...Open a gift...Sneeze...
Read cookbooks...Ride the Sea Doo...Road trips...
Digging around in antique stores...Surf the internet...
Make quilts...