The NYC Mosque debate

I was moved to create this blog on the heels of the current protests elicited by the planned Mosque near Ground Zero. I mysef am a native New Yorker and am completely appalled at both the reaction and the intolerance with which this matter has been approached. First and foremost the First Amendment of our Constitution grants us ALL freedom of religion and the right to assemble and practice our religion when,where and how we see fit. Nowhere in the constitution is there a clause or quid pro quo stating that others may infringe upon those rights simply because they disapprove of where we decide to worship nor is there a clause supporting such a dictatorship.

I am well aware that there are many others like myself who have relatives and friends who either perished or survived the 9/11 attacks and therefore completely understand the outrage that the Mosque's intended location has sparked but no matter what, aren't we first and foremost Americans seeking to protect and uphold the rights that our forefathers so very painstakingly and carefully laid out?

As an American I have been in such disbelief about what I've seen and heard in the last couple of days and I can't help but think that we may have reached a point from which there is no return. How do we recover and come back from all of this?