Resolved: An Islamic Cultural Center should be built near Ground Zero.

I think the arguments we provided up until this point should be enough for the voters to make their decision on the ICC. 1) "clearly America is not a protector of rights. Building the Islamic Cultural Center does not show anything about America being a protector of rights because America as a whole has shown that it does not believe in these rights." ---Haven you heard of the phrase: "I don't agree with what you saying, but 'll defend your right to say it." This is a classic example of that bit of wisdom in action. Just because we are against something does not mean we don't respect your right to do it. If we listened to mainstream America every time a critical decision had to be made I'm pretty sure things would be different tan they are today. We aren't a democracy, we are a Republic, a far better form of government because we protect the rights of the minority as well as the majority. With the evidence I have provided, specifically that the American people irrationally fear the ICC, the fact that the majority of Americans oppose the building should have no bearing on this debate. Basically, why should their opinion be considered if it is unfounded. Extrapolating the actions of a group of men with a symbol of billions of other peaceful Muslims is atrocious. "Furthermore, my opponent seems to believe that a lack of religious tolerance means that a person has bad logic." ---This is absolutely 100% correct. Once again, my opponent bases his argument off of the popular opinion of the American public, using this as his foundation. He bases it off no code of law, no rules of morality, just the public opinion, which we know can be flawed at time, including this one. 2) I believe everything in this point should be moot. It could go either way honestly. I can roll the dice and predict outcomes just as well as anyone else, but the fact is is that we don't know whats going to happen. 3) My opponent never showed me evidence that it offends the majority of Muslims should an ICC be built. He quoted the opinion of one Muslim woman. My opponent claims the best way to heal the rifts is for it to be not built. I contend that this is wrong, because it rewards the violence and threats made to stop the building. It basically says that okay, you kicked and screamed and threw things so now your gonna get ice cream. Its only going to reinforce the idea that violence and threats are a viable and accepted means for change. Also, my opponent has still not decided if the Muslims who died on 9/11 and who helped rescue the survivors maybe deserve to have an ICC. 4) My opponent says I cannot call the police or protect myself, so what does he want me to do? He is fixing the argument and eliminating all other options than his own. I hold that moving the ICC would cause more threats, since it is rewarding violent behavior. My opponent is making grand assumptions that moving one single building will cause all sorts of unity and happiness and rainbows to come out of nowhere. Perhaps building it will make everyone just stop talking about it. It gives a sense of closure. 5) My opponent has been flipping back and forth on the definition of the ICC, whether it be a mosque or not, he has consistently held that is it "a Muslim building." What if it where a Muslim grocery store? would it make a difference? 2 blocks in the city is a lot to cover, having an ICC sandwiched between storefronts hardly seems as any type of threat. Would it better at 3 blocks? Perhaps 4? What distance is going to make you happy? For some reason 2 blocks is very serious, when in reality it is nowhere near Ground Zero. Maybe you'd like the Muslims in the area to move out of downtown, out of respect. Rewriting your contentions in all capital letters is very obnoxious. I copied you to show you that it is obnoxious. You keep telling the voters and myself the same thing over and over. We understand that this debate is about "should" and not "can." CONCLUSION I have enjoyed this debate, but I for one am very anti-Islam, almost to the point of prejudice. I mean, if someone crashed a 747 into the Burj Dubai, I would be out in the streets singing and dancing just like many Muslims were on 9/11. Call me whatever you want, but its the truth. But in this country, I would have zero tolerance for something like that. Tearing down Muslim buildings because of our prejudices is not right, because we are becoming what we hate. Of course we have the right to not like building a mosque near Ground Zero, but goddammit we still do it anyway. And that is what makes this country great. As a matter of fact, it should be built just for that reason. To show the rest of the world the tolerance and freedom of this country, precisely the reason many Muslim nations despise us. I'm an atheist, but: GOD BLESS AMERICA