NY Construction Workers Take A Stand

In the ever changing drama of the Ground Zero mosque, we now have a new twist. Many of the potential construction workers are saying that they won’t build a mosque on the controversial site. They give various reasons but the most compelling has got to be the personal attachments. Many of their friends and coworkers were murdered here nearly nine years ago. And many of today’s workers still feel the pain and heartache of having to help dig through the smoldering rubble in search of their fallen comrades.

I heard a story about a young construction worker who reported for his first day of work on September 11, 2001. He never got to tell his family about his first day at work at the Twin Towers because he never made it home.

When you hear things like this, it’s not hard to understand the opposition to working on the mosque. How can they be expected to build a place of worship to Allah when so many of their friends were killed in his name at this very site?

I’ve got a lot of respect for these guys. In a time when work is not so plentiful, they rather forgo a paycheck than compromise their principles. We need more of that New York attitude across the country!

Aside from all this, construction workers will probably face pressure from their unions, who will likely side with President Obama’s appeasing stance on the issue. Of course, Obama made some predictable “freedom of religion” comments at a Ramadan dinner last week in front of a group of Muslims (how convenient!). Yeah, we all know about the First Amendment, you silly President. However, this has nothing to do with freedom of religion. It has everything to do with common sense.

No one has said that Muslims don’t have the right to build their mosque. Of course, they have the right. But the wounds haven’t healed from that fateful September day. And they probably never will. Building a mosque will only pour salt on the wound. And let's stop pretending that Muslims aren't aware of this.

Let me break it down as simple as I can to the Muslim community. For sensitivity and tolerance to actually work, it has to be a two way street. Let's remember that you only make up roughly one percent of the US population. So, is respecting the wishes of the majority of America really too much to ask? If you’re truly serious about mending fences and building a mutual respect, you’ll build your mosque away from Ground Zero. It’s the only sensible thing to do. And if none of this resonates with you, let’s try this: You can build a mosque at Ground Zero when we can build a synagogue in Mecca.

I heard a great idea from one of the NY construction workers earlier today on one of the news channels. He basically said, “How about if we move the site of the mosque one yard for every life that was lost here on September 11?”

You gotta love New York!

KW