Protesters

The housing crisis has been difficult on those of us that work in construction. Just five years ago, we turned down work because we had too much of it. Now the work is sporadic at best.

Even though it takes me over an hour to get from my home in Nashville to the jobsite in Shelbyville, I’m happy to be working on the First Baptist Church expansion. It’s been over a month since the last job, which feels like an eternity during the summer months. The expanded facilities they’re adding are pretty basic stuff, and the church members leave us alone f or the most part. One day, a lady brought us all sandwiches. They were awful (how can you screw up a ham sandwich?), but the sentiment was nice, so I chose not to complain.

Then yesterday, something unusual happened. We had protesters! And not just any protesters. It was four Muslim teenagers from Murfreesboro. They held signs, and one of them shouted into a bullhorn, “Christian churches encourage violence. We peace-loving Muslims condemn the expansion of Christianity. Do you know who started the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? George W. Bush. That’s right – a Christian. Christianity is un-American. Christians are trying to establish Christianity as the national religion, which is clearly a violation of our most fundamental rights established in the First Amendment. All freedom and liberty-loving Americans should denounce Christianity by putting an end to its expansion, right here in Tennessee!”

The media eventually showed up to cover the event and I got on TV! It was obviously meant as a satire against the new Mosque being built in Murfreesboro, but some of the locals didn’t see it that way and got really upset. I was just happy to break up the monotony.