Does racial profiling equal bigotry?

This morning I read in the news that the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is suing the FBI for questioning Muslims and Arabs about terrorist activity and for researching Muslim life by visiting mosques, etc.

Before I go any further, let me be the first to say that the joy of living in America is that anyone (no matter ethnicity, religion, or creed) is welcome. Being American means that we embrace diversity. I am so glad we have that freedom here. I also believe that, in its infancy, the ACLU was a very important part of giving that freedom to Black Americans who deserve it as much as anyone else in this country. I'm proud to be an American, and I'm proud to have friends of other cultures and belief systems.

However, because I'm proud to be an American, I want to see my country and my freedoms protected. So, let's make some observations. Out of the terrorist attacks we've seen to our country (and to others), what percentage of them were Muslim or Middle Eastern? Who is currently making threats to our country (and to others)? The FBI has done what any good detective does. They aren't accusing anyone or forcing anyone to involuntary interrogation. They're just investigating where their clues lead to protect ALL Americans, including law abiding Muslim Americans.

Let's say I observe a hit and run one day on the road. Since it happened so fast, I obviously don't know exactly who did it. I didn't even get the license plate number, but I did see that it was a Georgia plate (no offense to Georgians) and that it was a green SUV. When I give my report to the police, should they not use my information to their advantage? What if they said, "We don't want to be prejudiced, so we're going to stop every car we see that looks damaged." Or perhaps, "We can't be prejudiced, so unfortunately we can't find the person who did it." No! They're going to look for a green SUV with Georgia plates. Duh!

Not every Georgia driver with a green SUV drives recklessly. It would be ridiculous to think so, and it's ridiculous to think every Muslim is a terrorist. But, for that day every Georgian driving a green SUV might be slightly investigated. No infrigment of rights, just some questions and observations. And so, unfortunately we find ourselves in a world where we must observe a certain profile of people more closely. Is that bigotry? I don't think so. Just common sense in a bad, bad world.

It's unfortunate that a few bad people can make a bad mark on so many other great people. For that, I am sorry.