The following is fiction. The reader may feel free to draw whatever conclusion comes to mind.

A group of radical Republicans blows up a Democrat campaign headquarters office dowtown in a big city somewhere. Over 3,000 Democrats — as well as the Republican suicide bomber-attackers —  lost their lives in the worst politically motivated attack in history. The Democrat office building was an icon of all that is the Democrat Party and the loss is felt throughout the country. Pleas by Democrats go out begging people to not take revenge on Republicans because “True Republicanism” is a political party of peace. This was merely an act by a fringe group of radicals.

After all of the funerals and after all of the cleanup efforts at Ground Zero, thoughts turn toward rebuilding at the site. Somebody suggests that a new Republican headquarters building be built at the former Democrat site. Even though there are 100 other Republican offices in that city, this new Republican Headquarters will be a beacon of hope at a site where so much carnage took place.

Opponents to the idea point out that it would be in bad taste to build a new building representing the Republicans and their philosophy when it was in fact Republicans that had initiated the attack that killed so many Democrats. Supporters of the new Republican shrine proclaim that the attack was not the fault of the “vast majority of Republicans” who are in fact decent, peaceful people. To not build a Republican headquarters here would be “intolerant” and legal action and public demonstrations are planned to protest the persecution of Republicans.

Politicians get into the discussion too. One well known bureaucrat insists that “people of every political party in this country deserve the right to practice their own political philosophy, whatever it is”. Another reminds us of how we must worry about what “Republicans all over the world will think of us”. A top-level Democrat announces that what makes this country great is that we have “such a wide diversity in this country which is what makes us so strong”.

Some local citizens admit that a new Republican building may in fact be needed in this city, if that is what Republicans want. But perhaps, it was suggested, could they consider a different site? A Democrat suggested that, if anything, a new Democrat Party building should be built but that idea was immediately discarded as being offensive to Republicans everywhere.

A final decision is made. A new state-of-the-art Republican building is to be constructed right over the remains of  the former Democrat party building and its inhabitants. The Democrats call a press conference to draw attention to the fact of how “tolerant” they can be. The families of the Democrats that were killed understand that perhaps it was not “True Republicanism” that killed their loved ones, but they somehow feel unsettled by what is happening.

UPDATE———-August 20

A reader responds:”What do you have against Islam? You must be a bigot.”

Dear reader, you have missed the point that I was trying to make. You are correct in surmising that this parable is related to the current plan to build an Islamic mosque near Ground Zero in New York City. But my point really has nothing at all to do with Islam, although that is what many people are focusing on.  Although it is believed by many that only White American Male Christians need to worry about offending any other group, I suggest that everybody everywhere try to show a little compassion to their fellow humans.

Imagine if a child of your friend dies a tragic death because he choked on a piece of a bagel that he was eating. I submit that it would be in extremely poor taste to show up at the wake with a plate of bagels. Even if I am accused of discriminating against bagels, or the makers of the bagels, or asked to prove how much I love bagels, I think that bringing a basket of fruit would be much less likely to upset the family. Even if I happened to be a bagel baker myself, the feelings of the family should be a bigger concern. I can go and have bagels somewhere else. Let’s think about the feelings of the survivors and not so much about ourselves.

My other point – an observation perhaps of human nature – is to examine how much people’s opinions change when you simply change the characters of the story around.

Thank you for letting me clarify my point.