"Sacred Spaces" by Nancy Gibbs of TIME Magazine...

Today's mail included the Aug. 30. 2010 Edition of TIME Magazine. The cover reveals the deeply debated subject of building a mosque near Ground Zero. This post isn't about me taking sides.

Instead, it's about the last page in the magazine titled Sacred Spaces. Nancy Gibbs, the author of the short essay does a solid and objective piece of writing that I found surprising (maybe because everything that's said about the subject is quite harsh and heated). It is solemn and only raises questions about how "sacredness" is different for every individual.

Here's her last paragraph that I really appreciated:

Sacred spaces invoke the absolute and the divine: they will never be the same to all people, and so their management demands particular humility. Questions of law and land use and building permits do not lend themselves to arguments over the "irrational" or inexplicable. Politicians who exploit these debates for their own purposes deserve special scorn. It is not just these spaces that are worthy of special respect; so is the way we engage one another over their fate.

the illustration by Gerard Dubois for the article was just as stirring. (the first shot is upside down).