The heat and level of the debate over the proposed “Ground Zero Mosque” – that isn’t at Ground Zero and is more community center than mosque – has lowered and will probably stay low for some time. Protests were held on Sunday with supporters and opponents of the space that is now known as Park51. Everyone has chimed in on the issue: Obama, Palin, Newt, New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg (whose speech on the subject was powerful), and everyone else with an opinion or an election to win.

With the media and the public’s short attention spans, there are other things to report on – the egg recall, the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, plus whatever else comes up – and there seems to be nothing more to move the Park51 story forward. There’s not much left for talking-heads or politicians to dissect on cable news.

So, after spending several weeks listening to people talk about it, especially here in New York, I hope we have a better understanding of ourselves as a country. The debate touched on our basic rights as Americans as well as current issues the country faces: Freedom of religion, property rights, immigration, the changing racial and ethnic composition of the country, America’s relationship with the Muslim world, 9/11.

I hate to use the phrase “teachable moment,” but there must be a lesson here. Emotions have been high for several weeks now. Adding to the tension are the protests and opposition to proposed mosques in other parts of the country, and a recent poll showing about 1/5 of Americans believe that Obama is a Muslim. America showed some of its true colors in the last few weeks. There is clearly a strong, or at least vocal, Islamophobic streak here.

So, what’s next on this issue?

Is the controversy dead? Will it come up again as we approach the mid-term elections?

What about the issues that surfaced during the debate? What did we learn about ourselves?

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