TO THE EDITOR:
Consider an important date in American history: April 20, 1999. On that day, 12 high school students were killed in a shooting at Columbine High School. Shortly after the tragedy, the NRA arrived in Denver, eager to have its annual meeting to discuss organizational policies. Residents of Colorado pleaded with the NRA to reschedule but were ultimately unsuccessful.
The event grabbed massive headlines, and people vehemently protested the NRA’s arrival. The construction of the Ground Zero mosque and the NRA’s decision to go forward with its meeting are inevitably linked.
Just like the NRA’s meeting in Denver, the construction of a mosque is neither illegal nor immoral; it is simply in bad taste. Some things in life cannot be decided through numerous tests of constitutionality and ethics. There is a gut feeling that it is not right, and just because it looks fine on paper does not mean we should go ahead and do it.
In this light, I know if I were a family member of someone who died in the Sept. 11 attacks, I would feel quite powerless watching the mosque being constructed. Just like the parents of the Columbine victims had to watch the NRA president wave a gun in the air which symbolized the death of their child, these relatives will have to watch an Islam temple constructed only yards from where Muslim extremists struck down their loved ones. I can imagine why they do not want this to happen, and I support them.
Chase Haislip
Sophomore
History, Statistics
