Right Now, We're the Problem

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Since most Americans feel it's inappropriate to construct a mosque so close to the site of the 9/11 attacks, and since Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has said he is committed to bridging divides between Muslim and American cultures, why not show us of this commitment?

While there are always a few haters, Americans understand that it was the terrorist element of Islam that attacked us on 9/11, not those who cherish peace. The proposed spot for the mosque reignites the hurt felt by what the terrorists did, not the peaceful of Islam.

Mr. Rauf could recognize that distinction, sense that it's not appropriate to build a mosque so close to ground zero, take advantage of our religious freedom, and by using good judgment, build the mosque somewhere else.

By doing so, what a long way he would go to bridge the supposed divides about which he has professed such concern. What a wonderful way to show how the peaceful of Islam really operate and put out the fire.

That's not likely to happen, and part of the reason is that Rauf is supported by Americans who are pouring gas onto the blaze. Once again, legitimate and common sense debate over an extremely important issue has taken a backseat to political correctness, slander, name-calling and defamation.

A perfect example of this was presented to us on the Opinion page of Wednesday's Pilot, with the inclusion of the cartoon by syndicated cartoonist Stuart Carlson.

In this comedic gem, the message seems to be that if you disagree with President Obama's policies, or do not believe it's appropriate to build a mosque next to the crater that used to be the World Trade Centers, you are an ignorant bigot.

A man's head has been sliced open with a scalpel. It's then filled with various ingredients. The first frame says, "add news from only one source." Presumably, Carlson refers to Fox News.

Then add, "a dollop of fear ... a glob of anger and frustration ... a tincture of xenophobia ... and a big dose of ignorance." Then the brain is flipped closed, and the man utters the statement, "President Obama is a Socialist, Muslim, Terror Baby."

There are a couple of things about this. First, it is creepy when political satire from the Fourth Estate, in blind defense of a leader, turns its attention away from politics, or the issue at hand, and instead, hurls insults at a segment of the population.

In America, we have freedom of speech as well as freedom of religion, and while Mr. Carlson may not agree with those who disagree with either Obama or the proposed mosque, that doesn't make Americans ignorant bigots for the positions they hold.

Second, where does Mr. Carlson think American's anger and frustration originate if it isn't the result of cartoons and other commentary just like this? People don't like being slandered. But this is becoming the norm, whether on television, in newspapers, online, even in private conversations.

We have lost the ability to communicate with those we disagree with. We seem unable to respect another's views. Instead, we fling insults and defame character.

If there is to be a remedy, it's probably with our vote. Our vote matters more now than ever. We are losing our way, and it's in large measure due to a lack of leadership and integrity in our government.

It's more common now for our politicians to pander to their base and say or do whatever is necessary to further that agenda, and their own political futures, than it is to do what is right and honorable by all the American people.

For us to be honorable, to have integrity, to once again respect one another, we need to see it occasionally from those who govern.

So as November draws near, let's try to be more informed before we cast our ballots. Let's know the character and integrity of the candidate before we just loyally pull the lever for our party member.

Let's know if the candidate is part of the problem or the solution. Do they prefer insult over rational debate? Or do they avoid that type of thing in favor of our Constitution and respect for the American people?

Geoff Cutler is owner of Cutler Tree LLC in Southern Pines and is a regular contributor to The Pilot and PineStraw magazine. Contact him at geoffcutler@embarqmail.com.

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commonsense77 2 years, 8 months ago

The cartoon Mr. Cutler rants on about would have been funny if it wasn't true.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

Geoff, if you think only one side of this debate engages in "political correctness, slander, name-calling and defamation," then you really haven't been paying attention. Or are you another one of those people for whom the overriding "principle" is IOKIYAR? Are you one of those people who only cares about the "tone" of one side of this debate? If so, your outrage doesn't come from principle at all. It's just a rhetorical trope.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

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geoffcutler 2 years, 8 months ago

Dusty, Read the piece again. "We have lost the ability to communicate with those we disagree with."

"We"...all of us. I don't disagree with you, nor am I outraged. Sorry, perhaps, but not outraged.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

jimt, I don't much care if they speak for him or not. But he's not speaking TO them or ABOUT them the same way he does when he scolds people on the other side of the fence for "insults" and "name calling."

Geoff once asked me, politely, to refrain from using the term "teabagger," which he apparently finds highly insulting. Because he asked nicely, I agreed. But until I start seeing the same sort of request applied to the other side, until , for instance, he starts expressing his disapproval of "Obamabot" and "Demon-crat" the deal's off.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

Geoff, I've read the piece several times now, and the only criticism I see is of the tone of a pro-Obama, anti-Fox news cartoon.

I ask again: where's your sorrow when the conservatives are calling names like "Obamabot"? I'm not hearing any.

geoffcutler 2 years, 8 months ago

Dusty, your point is well taken. Maybe I should use examples from other side as well.

Not participating in the name-calling and defamation of character, though, no matter what the other guy says, is probably a good place to start fixing what is an old problem, and one that's getting worse.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

"Maybe I should use examples from other side as well."

I look forward to seeing that. And to the conservative equivalent--from anyone--of the column I wrote entitled "Voices of Reason and Restraint." But I'm not holding my breath for that second one.

commonsense77 2 years, 8 months ago

Mr. Cutler, would you please give us a common sense and legitimate argument on why the Islamic Center shouldn't be built?

The only argument I hear is it would be insensitive to victims of 9/11. Which is a slippery slope argument which is based more in rhetoric than American Constitutional Principles. How far do the Muslims have to build from the World Trade Center to appease the right wing of American Politics? 10 blocks, 201 miles off the coast of the United States (Just outside our territorial waters).

The terrorists who committed those acts were intolerant of others who didn't share the same beliefs as they do. By opposing law abiding Muslims from building a place of worship and recreation are we not squarely in step with the very same people who committed these terrible acts?

By allowing law abiding Muslims to build on private land we would show the Islamic Fundamentalists that they did not succeed and that the spirit of Freedom will crush their cause. Oppose it and we hand the hardliners a victory !

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

Well, Geoff, there's your opportunity...

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

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JimHeim 2 years, 8 months ago

First, It's not a mosque; Second, It's not a mosque; Third, If it were a mosque (and it's not) how far from Ground Zero would it have to be to make you happy? Farther than the actual mosque currently in use the and a half blocks away?

JimHeim 2 years, 8 months ago

That was supposed to read, "...three and a half blocks away."

JimHeim 2 years, 8 months ago

I see that the fire at the mosque site in Tennessee has been ruled arson.

Is Tennessee too close?

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

So, Geoff...any comment on the "civility" of your fellow conservatives?

blake 2 years, 8 months ago

Mr Rhoades, Mr Cutler used a valid example on inflammatory and derogatory characterization of a large chunk of society in the Carlson cartoon. The premise of the article involved those that oppose the Islamic center/mosque at Ground zero. You throw out numerous examples of inappropriate debate but they were not based on the current argument. The article was political party neutral. The present issue is not party line based, a lot of democratic politicians have also expressed desire for a relocation of the center. I really think you should be less antagonistic. Are you really asking Mr Cutler to be the referee on this site? I think that is the perview of your editors.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

"The article was political party neutral."

No. It wasn't.

"Are you really asking Mr Cutler to be the referee on this site? "

No, I'm asking him to be more even handed in his criticism.

"Your rants on here pale in significance to anything conservatives have said."

Again, no. They simply don't.

And I'm not complaining to Geoff about the lack of civility. Let me say it again, since you didn't or were unable to read it read it above:

"I’m not complaining about the “tone” by the way...I accept that this is the way it is, and the way it's been since the 1990s, and it continues to be set by people like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, et. al. who gleefully describe anyone in opposition to them in the most insulting terms they can get away with on the air. It was set by the people who've openly stated that I side with terrorists in the letters column of this very paper.

So I’m not complaining, I’m just asking: where were you then, Mr. Cutler? Where were you then?"

What I don't accept is one-sided criticism that's merely a smokescreen for more partisanship.

nothingspecial 2 years, 8 months ago

Your thoughtful commentary is always a breath of fresh air, Mr. Cutler.

I'm thinking I'm not going to fault you for not being clairvoyant enough to know all the times that a few hypocrites above have been "victimized". They seem to take care of themselves just fine.

Ross 2 years, 8 months ago

Go Dusty - you are like chalk on a blackboard to "Mr." James and his ilk!

I hope this November angers them even more!

Matt_Woodruff 2 years, 8 months ago

Blind party loyalty makes me want to vomit. We have turned the governance of our once great Republic into a sporting event. You are either with "us" or you are with "them". No middle ground. There are no problem solvers in Raleigh or Washington DC, only egotistical half wits who people boo or cheer like they are a contestant on American Idol. What a joke.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago

Prom, the mosque argument proved beyond a doubt that when anyone presents you with actual facts (such as I did when providing quotes from the Cordoba House and Imam Rauf opposing violence and terrorism), you either ignore them or simply dismiss them as lies, then turn nasty and insulting (while at the same time denouncing everyone else for being insulting to you). You then announce that 'no one has presented any facts" because to you, anything that doesn't support your position isn't a fact.

In short, attempting "un-emotional, fact-based, evidence-supported, rational argument" with you is just an enormous waste of time.

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Right Now, We're the Problem

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