Fear underlies mosque opposition

They have won - in at least one battle, that is. The Islamic center near ground zero shows that the extremists have achieved their goal of changing aspects of our culture.

Because of the 9/11 attacks some have lost the strength to stand up for our way of life and, more specifically, our respect for religious freedom. Instead of realizing that the moderates building this mosque are allies in the war against extremists, we cling to fear and discriminate against them.

Some justify this attempted alteration of American values as respect for those who died on 9/11, but sadly it's not. It's just fear being masqueraded as respect. The true way to respect those who died is to not buckle under fear and to stand up for the true American value of religious freedom.

Others justify this discrimination by stating that there are Muslim countries without one church or synagogue in them. They ask why we should allow them to build a community center so close to ground zero. I say because we are a nation based on certain rights, and we will not set our benchmark of religious freedom to the standards of countries such as Saudi Arabia.

That said, if certain outlandish accusations of this becoming a haven for extremists come to fruition, do not give them any leniency, but again we should not cave under the fear of that possibility and change our values. If we do, the extremists are one step closer to changing our culture to something closer to theirs, something with fewer freedoms.

As someone who hopes to become a Marine Corps officer I hope to be defending the freedoms that this society was based upon, and not fighting for people who stampede all over those ideals due fear and cowardice.

Austin Bolesta

Schaumburg