US principles make compromise tough

• Source: Global Times
• [08:09 September 03 2010]
• Comments

And freelancers for major media have to fill in lengthy questionnaires to make sure neither they nor their family members have any personal ties with the organizations they write about.

These are all necessary precautions because personal agendas can be prejudicial, and therefore could impair the sense of fairness.

The only problem is that even the most meticulous rules cannot completely prevent the human side from swaying decisions or rulings or what is published.

And sometimes, fairness has to be measured in an imperfect human context. This is taken as a matter of fact in many other places, but Americans tend to refuse to accept it.

Of course, the human factors behind the mosque debate are reasonable and broadly understood. Still, to generalize a whole religion because of the craziness of some members is unmistakably prejudiced.

So the outcome of the battle over the mosque could be more symbolic than the mosque itself. It could become a sign of whether Americans can stand up to the improbably high standards they have set for themselves and others or whether fairness and equality are conditional even in the US.

It's a tough test. Let's hope they pass it.

The author is a New York-based journalist. rong_xiaoqing@ hotmail.com