Mosquerade of Liberty

What is lying behind the discussion over whether or not the government should allow a Mosque to be built so close to ground zero?  The more important issue is whether or not the government has the right to determine what the good is in society.  A fundamental belief of this republic we call ‘America’ is the belief that the government doesn’t get to decide what the good is.  In other words, we neither let the government dictate how we should live our lives, nor whether or not we should seek some higher meaning in our lives via religion.  If one really believes in, and is not just paying lip service to, the fundamental notion of liberty, then one must necessarily refrain from asking the government to impede a religious group’s attempt to built a worship center.  To ask the government to step in is to ask the government to determine what the good is.  Just because we don’t like something, doesn’t mean we get to determine whether it’s allowed a voice.  I hate reality tv (I think it’s distasteful and demeaning), but part of liberty is the fact that it has a right to be shown.  There are all sorts of things that I consider immoral and things I consider sins, yet I don’t want the government dictating what is immoral and what is a sin.  To let the government determine what the good is, is to move from liberty to some sort of theocracy.  I don’t want that, even it’s based on my own religion.  As Voltaire declared, “I might disagree with what you say, but I’ll die defending your right to say it.”  So, if you want to give up your freedom, then ask the government to step in and stop the Mosque from being built; just be aware that you won’t get that freedom back.

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