I am a ph.D candidate in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
I have been in Madison for a while, ever since my parents moved to Madison to be closer to family in 1993. I attended Madison West High School before going to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to get my B.A. in Spanish and in Journalism in 2005. After some advice from my advisors, I remained the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, receiving my M.S. in 2008. I am currently pursuing my doctorate and I anticipate graduating in Summer of 2011.
My research and teaching interests center around the use of new media technology, especially in the political arena. I am especially interested in how people’s predispositions and identifications influence their processing of media messages.
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It’s not a Mosque, it’s a community center, but that’s besides the point. Somehow, to some, it’s “inappropriate” or “insensitive” to build that on the “hallowed ground”, but the porn shops, strip clubs, betting parlors, and fast food joints (or the Ground Zero t-shirt stands) that are the same difference or closer are fine?
Some photos of other things the same distance from Ground Zero as the proposed center: http://daryllang.com/blog/4421
I have no problem saying it’s hallowed ground, but we need to set uniform rules. If there’s no religious structures allowed, fine, but I think a religious center is the least disrespectful of the things above..,
jon
Jon, you make a good point in your comment. But rather than continue the debate on my “about” page, I’ve devoted a post to the topic (and I’ve included your link). Thanks for the insight!
Emily,
I was wondering how you felt about the very feverish debate currently going on about the Ground Zero Mosque.
I feel that this is a very huge deal for many people invoking many many emotions. These emotions are being used and abused by politicians and media folk alike to generate interest, revenue, and support for their causes.
I currently feel at odds with many people that I know about it, but at the same time I can relate to their pain. I for one, support the building of the mosque simply because I support our constitution. The constitution and our founding values were created with the basic idea of “freedom of religion”. I believe fear has truly gripped this country and is currently being manipulated for self-serving interests.
We as a country, cannot become better, more understanding, compassionate, or generally evolve if we as a country go back on our word and refuse the right to freely practice religion.
In a sense I am thoroughly disappointed with this whole hypocrisy.
Hi Jay! It may surprise you to know that I agree 100% with the position that you’ve outline in your post. In terms of constitutional rights, I think there really is only a single argument that can be made – that they have the right to build the mosque there without government interference. I think that recognizing this point has left many who are at odds with only one point on which they can disagree – they think that it is “inappropriate” or “insensitive” to build a mosque there. However, your last point is incredibly important. Supporting a mosque there – a place of national tragedy – I think that we do become a better nation and we also make it harder for any to attack us on religious grounds. Now, I’m not going to say that we’ll never face terrorist attack or religious intolerance again, but in terms of pure symbolic value, a gracious, accepting, and even encouraging response would make America look pretty good.