ARE RIGHTS ALWAYS RIGHT?

Fellow hubbers, and other readers the purpose of this hub is to talk about the responsible way in which we must all exercise our Constitutional Rights. Utilizing a Constitutional Right isn’t always the responsible way to live our lives. Discretion must always be used when asserting Constitutional rights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We must always take the feelings of others into account, unless we are to be perceived as totally unfeeling slugs!!!! We owe each other courtesy, and respect, and we must take feelings of others into account in our everyday living!!!

There is absolutely no question that Imam Rauf, and his followers have the absolute Constitutional right to build this mosque at Ground Zero as shown below in the 1^st Amendment to The Constitution.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It’s a clear as the nose on each of our faces that these Muslims have the Constitutional right to build their mosque at ground Zero!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The question implicitly posed in the title to this hub is does having a right and exercising that right make doing so the right thing to do?

My answer to this question is a resounding Hell No!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve already stated discretion must always be used when asserting Constitutional rights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The fact that we have the right to behave in a certain manner doesn’t always make it the right thing to do. We should take the feelings of others into account. I’ll give an example out of my own life to illustrate this point.

My late boss, who also happened to be my best friend was having a Bar Mitzvah for his son. I received an invitation to attend, but previous plans with my own family would preclude my attendance. I did however intend to send the young man an appropriate gift for the occasion of his entry into manhood. I had a passing knowledge that a Bar Mitzvah was the celebration of a young Jewish boy’s entry into manhood at the age of 13 years, but I really had no idea what an appropriate gift was for this occasion. I knew that my friend’s father, who had fought in the resistance against Hitler with Marshall Tito, would be in attendance at this event coming all the way from Israel for his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had every RIGHT to send anything that I wanted to, but I wanted to do the RIGHT thing not just exercise my RIGHTS!!!!!! I consulted a local Rabbi, and discussed this with him and took his advice to the delight of all concerned.

September 11, 2001 was my 55^th birthday, and the first day of my life when I felt hated just for being an American. I can only imagine the pain of the survivors of those killed on that horrid day of infamy. If Imam Rauf, and his followers have any consideration they will follow my advice. Discretion must always be used when asserting Constitutional rights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Build your mosque somewhere else, and worship as you please, but don’t pour salt in the wounds of the survivors!!!!!!!!!!!!