I have a confession to make and I feel pretty damn vulnerable putting fingers to keys around it.

(No, I haven’t been watching The Bachelor.)

You ready?

We all want a special place

As infants and toddlers we begin to learn the ways in which we can get recognized. In some cases it’s cooing and smiling, in other cases it’s crying and screaming. We watch the reactions of those around us and we act accordingly so we can have our own valued role in this exclusive group known as family.

A church in Gainesville, Florida is planning on burning a stack of Qurans on September 11, the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country -- and I, for one,  just have to scream, “NO! This is not the answer!” We are not a nation based on hate or discrimination. Fighting hatred with hatred serves nobody and hurts many.

Politicians from both sides of the red/blue divide (from Hillary Clinton and Obama’s advisors to Sarah Palin), as well as the Pope, General Petraeus, and almost 9000 people on a Facebook page aimed at stopping the madness all agree that this is simply preposterous, disgraceful, and un-American. Not to wax poetic about revolutionary war values, but this country was based on religious freedom first and foremost. How can we condemn those who act out of fear and hatred to hurt those in this country if some of us are doing the same? Didn’t this Gainesville church learn anything in kindergarten or Sunday School -- like “two wrongs don’t make a right” and “love thy neighbor as thyself?” I mean seriously, people. Grow up.