You've gotta love the U.S.  media and its influence on the thinking of the American public, the members of which often don't seem to know how to think independently. In this media culture the news scandal of today is quickly forgotten and becomes a mere blip on the public radar once the next one pops up. Last week we saw a shifting in the winds of targeted hatred and fear from the media's favorite whipping boys of late-- Latino immigrants (legal and illegal alike)—to another, equally alienated group: Muslims (American born and immigrants alike).  With the controversy surrounding the building of the mosque near Ground Zero, sacred and sensitive ground for most in the nation, this new group became number one on the media list of America's arch enemies.

Pre 9/11 the idea of building a mosque anywhere  might have gone unnoticed but post 9-11 even the mention of the word "mosque" in the U.S., especially in NYC, is like waving a red flag at a bull. This controversy turned neighbor against neighbor, even Muslim against Muslim, as members of mosques started secretly and internally evaluating members of their own communities, wondering: is he/she a "good" one? American magazines and the media in general posed the questions that so many were thinking (and some afraid to voice):  What is Islam, who are its followers and can we trust "these people"?

As a consequence of this perhaps not so new but now more loudly voiced line of thought, a mosque in Tennessee was vandalized and the townspeople strangely quiet amidst all this violence in their very backyard. Maybe their silence was because they perceived this violence as being directed at "strangers"—neighbors who were different because they worshipped God in a different way. Lest the controversy end, a previously unknown Florida preacher decided to keep it alive and add even more anger, bitterness and distrust to the already raging fires of hatred: he threatened to burn the sacred book of Islam, the Koran, to allegedly protest the building of the mosque at Ground Zero. Fortunately, calls from the White House and perhaps the unspoken fear of arrest ( yes, the constitution does guarantee the right of free speech but you still can't yell fire in a crowd, which is what burning the Koran in this emotionally charged environment would amount to) stopped him and all appears relatively quiet for the moment.

In the wake of this elevated anti-Muslim climate, the Latino community has gotten a momentary media and public perception reprieve: it is no longer being pegged as being as bad an enemy of America as it was thought to be just a mere two weeks ago. While that is momentarily good for the community it does not address the underlying problem in America in 2010: our fear of "strangers" and distrust and hatred for the unfamiliar. This is not a uniquely American problem but rather a problem common to all countries and peoples. Family feuds, wars and conflicts are started and continued because of differences in opinions and beliefs. Still, America was founded on the very belief that we, the outcasts and refugees of so many different countries for so many different reasons, could forge a union , create a country—America--where differences would be respected and tolerated.

There is reason to fear terrorism as there is equal reason to fear uncontrolled immigration. However, as we in this country struggle to deal with both huge problems, we need to remember our very roots and our common goal: to treat our neighbors as we wish to be treated and to work together to make our nation once again strong in doctrine and equally strong economically.