Ron Paul & Son; Split on Family Lines
Ron Paul has always been somewhat more of a Libertarian than a Conservative politician and so has sometimes been wrongly called a Republican party elder when really he is, in my opinion, their more sensible cousin.
He demonstrated that again when he broke away, from what seems to be the Republican hymn sheet, by condemning the influence of neo-conservatives within the party to stir up a torrent of Islamaphobia.
"This is all about hate and Islamaphobia… Political demagoguery rules when truth and liberty are ignored." - Ron Paul 20/8/2010
However, his Kentucky Senate candidate son, Rand Paul, doesn’t seem to share the same feelings by saying the following:
“The Muslim community would better serve the healing process by
making a donation to the memorial fund for the victims of September 11th." - Rand Paul 17/8/2010
Clearly, Paul Jr. feels that the Islamic community as a whole in the USA needs to appease this tragedy of the American people. He forgets that these people were as much victims as non-Islamic Americans in 9/11 and implicitly connects mainstream Islam with Terrorism which further warps the truth. The truth that this Terrorism is fueled by extremists followers of Islam in the same way much of the anti-abortion campaign is funded by wealthy evangelical Christians. Of course, there are many Christians who support a ban on abortion who wouldn’t consider themselves evangelical and it this their right to do so; which is the real point of this issue.
The Constitution provides freedom of religion and so it is the right of the Islamic community center to practice where it wants. It is a sign of gross social intolerance and a huge step back for American society when people start misrepresenting this project as an insult to the memory of those who died in 9/11.
What is of paramount importance to the memory of those who died in 9/11 is the birth of greater understanding between the world’s two largest religions who together can counter the religious extremism that fuels this Terrorism.
Follow Technorati