Sounds stupid, doesn't it? Some dude that I don't even know goes and makes some inflammatory statement regarding Muslims and the First Amendment and it puts me off my feed. It's rather lame and pretty ludicrous.
Even this guy told me to shut up.
However, I can't really be stopped when it comes to speaking my mind (I've literally had Dan Choi tell me to shut my trap and edit myself. Dan fucking Choi) so I wrote this letter to Mr. Fischer. And, uh, sent it to him.
"Dear Mr. Fischer,
My name is Ian Finkenbinder, and I am writing you in response to your blog post on RenewAmerica.com, 'Islam and the First Amendment.' First, I want to recognize you as a fellow blogger and congratulate you on your success in exercising your First Amendment right to free speech. Your ability to make yourself heard has undoubtedly contributed to your success and I'm sure I join you in being thankful that we live in a country that allows our voices to be heard.
I myself am a writer, being a columnist for hivster.com, amongst other publications. However, I am contacting you not only as a writer, but as an activist, former soldier, and fellow American.
In September of 2000, I gave an oath that I hold sacred, and that oath was to protect the Constitution of the United States. While I no longer serve that oath in uniform, I feel privileged in that I have had the opportunity to uphold that oath as a writer and as an activist. I continue that service today when I inform you, sir, of the inaccuracies and patent falsehood of this most recent blog post in which you state:
'Islam has no fundamental First Amendment claims, for the simple reason that it was not written to protect the religion of Islam. Islam is entitled only to the religious liberty we extend to it out of courtesy. While there certainly ought to be a presumption of religious liberty for non-Christian religious traditions in America, the Founders were not writing a suicide pact when they wrote the First Amendment.'
It is apparent to any scholar of Constitutional law that yes, indeed, the founding fathers were Christian. However, to assert that the freedoms they granted all Americans are only applicable to Christian Americans is frankly disgusting and a perversion of the oath that I freely gave.
Nowhere in the First Amendment or the entire Bill of Rights does it state that these rights are only applicable to Christians, and for that assertion you should be ashamed. You are the head of an organization touting itself as the "American Family Association," but this is a misnomer. Your attempted destruction of gay families in our great nation does not seem to satisfy you, but now you desire nothing less than the devaluation of all families except Christian ones.
I would have given my life to allow you the right to spew your lies-- how do you sleep at night knowing you tell such untruths to your vapid followers?-- and you desire instead to take my willingness to sacrifice and defile it with disgusting, un-American notions such as this. People died so that any American whether he be gay, straight, Muslim, or Christian may be heard. Friends of mine have died to give you the right to spout such lies.
And I do call attacks such as yours on the First Amendment un-American. The attempt to strip someone of their right to be heard is naught but rank fascism, sir, and you should be ashamed of yourself. I am disgusted and appalled at your bile, and know that history shall judge you as the bigot that you are.
This veteran swore to defend the Constitution against threats foreign and domestic, and I deem you to be such: Nothing less than a threat to the rights that God gave us. Happily, in this great country of ours, I can combat your foolishness and amateurish blatherings in the way our founding fathers intended: with words.
God grant that I may keep them, though I may not be Christian nor fit into your definition of the word 'family.' I challenge you, sir, to re-read the Bill of Rights, re-read your Bible, and re-read your heart and tell me true: Do you believe this arrogant, bilious notion that we can take away someone's First Amendment right to free speech because they are Muslim?
From one American to another,
Ian Finkenbinder"
We will see if I get any response.
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