Response to Freelancer

Submitted by Carl Samet (United States), Sep 1, 2005 at 10:50

You said:

"People have the right to wear what they want, and follow whatever religion they want to, as long as they do no harm to others."

You do not have the right to educate yourself at taxpayer expense, to use roads and medical services and social services all paid for by your fellow citizens, if you do not wish to assimilate and abide by the customs and culture set by our common polity. If a child refuses to mix with the opposite gender in public school - something our society and culture deems appropriate and salutary for our cultural health - let him remove himself from the society of which he mistakenly claims to be a part.

No one in the United States is telling Muslim girls not to wear a burqa - but if you, as a Muslim, persist in your belief that a girl who wears a burqa is contributing to American values, you are sadly mistaken.

"should i be forced to drink alcohol in college simply because i am a muslim..."

That's dishonest. No one will force you to drink alcohol (unless you pledge the wrong fraternity!) but the issue addressed in Mr. Pipes's article concerns Muslims who wish to forbid non-Muslims from drinking themselves. Why do you wish to divert the issue in this fashion?

"i grew up in america since i was 5 yrs old."

If you think that being an American means refusing to assimilate and rejecting the mores and standards of the society that fed you and educated you, you didn't learn a thing ....

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