re: #6 CuriousLurker

—The enemies of a group often count on “collective guilt” to paralyze the group.

—Sometimes the lack of a central authority, as with American Muslims and American Jews, works for the group, sometimes against the group. OTOH, having a central authority, while seen as advantageous, can work against the group which has it; case in point, the tepid response of the Catholic church to the pedophilia scandal and in some cases its working against those who had been hurt and/or sought to reveal the goings-on.

—For once, I think I can speak for at least the majority here when I say that I’m glad you’re here. We need your perspective.

re: #12 Shiplord Kirel

Good grief! You don’t have to be “worthy” of First Amendment rights, you just have to be here. That is the whole point. What is Peretz wanting to do? If Muslims are not worthy, a whole host of other ideologies could be similarly proscribed. Every schoolchild should see the slippery slope with this kind of “reasoning,” yet millions of American adults apparently do not.

Amen. They are rights, not privileges. If Muslims are denied their rights in this country, guess which religious group will be next? Hint—It won’t be the UMC, the RCC, the UCC, the SBC, or the Assemblies of God.