Religion, Insanity's Scapegoat

Let me start off by saying that not all religion is bad. I know some people who are devoted to living a moral and just life and make a serious attempt not to judge others. If God is what you need to get through life, then I'm happy you've found him. But the vast majority of religion is a scapegoat.

I will be speaking from a mostly Christian view point, it's the religion I'm most familiar with (specifically Catholicism). Religion has been used to justify terrorism from its beginnings. Torture and murder is okay as long as you're doing it for God, right? Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even Buddhists are all guilty of this at some point or another. Atheists aren't any better, but at least we're honest about our motives. Is it human nature to want to dominate the world? I have no idea, but it sure seems like it.

I'm upset by these people who are pissed off about building a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero. The entire Islamic faith did not do this to our country. A few fucked up radicals did. Would anyone complain if someone wanted to build a church next to where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building used to be located, the location of the Oklahoma City Bombing? I don't think so, yet Timothy McVeigh was a Christian.

I think it would be a beautiful thing to build this mosque. Let the world see that despite our wounds, we proudly accept all faiths. We don't stereotype and lump people together thanks to the violent and unforgivable acts of a few people. Maybe it's naive, but perhaps by throwing open our arms to the peaceful followers of religion, it may help to convince their misguided brethren to put aside their weapons. Fighting fire with fire doesn't work, can't we at least try another tactic. If we continue to alienate the Islamic community, how can we expect them to be on our side?

Let's counteract intolerance with tolerance and hate with love.