on the planned mosque and cultural center

debate is raging over this proposed mosque and islamic cultural center, and for good reason.

building a mosque near ground zero, no matter how peaceful the developers' intentions may be, is a slap in the face to the victims of 9/11 and their families. i'm not some bible-thumping, ultra-conservative, but i agree with a lot of the conservative views on this subject. i respect the constitution and unwaveringly support the right to practice religion freely, but this move is obviously a publicity stunt designed to spark fierce debate. and that's disgusting.

the goals of this project are laudable: encourage american acceptance of the islamic faith and improve relations between america and the muslim world. but they're going about it all wrong.

let's turn this around. in iraq, one of the most memorable moments of the war was pulling down the statue of saddam hussein that stood in the center of baghdad. imagine if, a few years after its demolition, christian missionaries erected a huge crucifix or a statue of jesus.

even that doesn't parallel the current situation. to do that, a group of christian fundamentalists would have to blow up some important international building in a country like turkey, massacring thousands of innocent civilians. after non-stop media footage of seemingly average americans and other western citizens screaming "death to turkey" and burning turkish flags, a group of "nice christians" would have to go in and propose a new christian center right across the street from where the tragedy took place. wonder what the muslim response would be? do you think prime minister erdogan or president gul would call for equality and religious freedom? doubtful.

comparing turkey (and sadly but truthfully, much of the muslim world) to america is impossible, not to mention a cop-out. but as an exercise in comparisons, it was necessary.

now let's compare this to another current scandal that's getting a lot of media attention: dr. laura "n-word" schlessinger, and the hypocrisy that is surrounding this debate.

on august 10, schlessinger used the n-word a few times, i think the count is 10 or so, on her radio program talking about race relations. i think she's an idiot, and i disagree with what she did. so does new york times columnist charles m. blow, whose weekly column is witty and very fun to read, but often one sided. his opinion of schlessinger's outburst was spot on. in a recent column, justin bieber for president, was pretty critical of her actions, as he should have been. i'm sure mr. blow understands the constitution, which protects schlessinger's right to say whatever she wants on her show, but he knows it's wrong. she can do it, but she shouldn't, because doing so is an abuse of her rights.

now to the mosque. uh oh, mr. blow, looks like you've backtracked. a few days ago on twitter, blow started a discussion of the proposed mosque and community center, saying, "What i find ironic is that the most religious ppl in America (Repubs) are opposing religious freedom, while the group with the most non-religious ppl (Dems) are fighting for it."

wait a minute! so it's ok for schlessinger to be attacked for abusing her right to free speech, but it's not ok for the american public to criticize the cordoba initiative and the american society for muslim advancement (mosque and cultural center investors) for their blatant abuse of religious freedom?

i think schlessinger is wrong. no one should say the n-word. but no one - muslims, christians, buddhists, atheists, anyone - should take advantage of american religious tolerance.

i have the right to be a christian, a right i very much enjoy. i have the right to publish my opinions on this blog, another right i love to have. i've been in china where people don't have these rights, and as much as i appreciate chinese culture and the time i've spent over there, i couldn't imagine living in a place where i wasn't free to express my opinions - political, religious, social, et cetera. but, there are boundaries to what we can reasonably say and do, and when those lines are crossed, bad things happen. no matter how obscene or inappropriate schlessinger's comments were, we can't demonize her for abusing her rights while praising the developers of this mosque for intentionally pressing america's most tender bruise. few people would object to a mosque and cultural center being built somewhere else - i would support that 100%.

this, though, i can't and won't support.

chapter four

as a new, final school year starts, there's a lot of reflecting to do, a lot of questions to ask.

what have i accomplished over the past three years?

people tell me i've done a lot more than most college students. i've been to china a few times and spent almost a year there in total. i'm near fluent in chinese, one of the most difficult languages for an english-speaker to learn. i've grown a lot as a person, made friends, lost friends and i've found things i'm passionate about. before i came to college, i didn't really know what i wanted or who i was; i was an uncarved block. much against zhuang-zi's sagely advice, i've carved myself into the person i want to be, and i'm still carving.

what do i want to accomplish?

my first priority is figuring out what i want to do starting after may 2011, when i graduate. for the first month or two, i'm taking a much needed break. i have money saved up from high school graduation (never had time to spend it with chinese class taking up EVERY summer), and i'm spending it all on 1) a new computer and 2) a month(s) long trip through either eastern europe, south asia or latin america. i have a year to decide that.

as important as this trip is to me, graduate school is just as important, and i want to make sure i'm making the right choice about it. this fall, i'm applying to four economics phd programs in the united states. in order of preference, they are princeton, chicago, mit and boston university. i'm also applying to three masters programs outside of the united states: the university of oslo, the london school of economics and cambridge, in no particular order.

as some have been very quick to point out (friends, family, teachers, most of my support base), these are all pretty difficult schools to gain admission. obviously, i realize that. but why shoot low?

it's not like i don't have other options. not getting in would probably be a blessing in disguise. it would give me a chance to work for a year or two and make sure that i'm going the right track with economics. working might show me that i would be better suited as a finance major or a policy major, maybe even a philosophy major (joke).

in any case, i'm starting my norwegian studies next week...

a lot of people have asked me why i want to go this route. after obtaining a phd, i'd like to work for the world bank and study environmental economics, doing policy research in developing regions who are prone to environmental degradation as a result of industrialization (we can't afford a repeat of china in africa now can we?). after a while there, i'd like to move to a university where i could teach and research until i'm 80 or 90, maybe 150 if medicine catches up.

what have i discovered over the last three years? what awesome advice can i give?

people aren't always who you think they are, so don't always trust the people you meet, only the people you know. you'll never get to know anyone unless there are bumps in the road. when you start college, you don't know what you want to do. when you graduate, you still might not know. that's not a problem. find a passion and stay on track to work on it.

this year is going to be great. i'm excited to work on my thesis, i'm excited to work on my fulbright application, and i'm so excited to watch my friends and myself move on to new things. my sister is starting college with me next week, and i think that's going to be a lot of fun too.

if only the black-eyed peas had an annoying song about a good year instead of a good night...