Let's not become the enemy
In the end, cooler heads prevailed.
The Koran-burning issue had gotten to be ridiculous -- overhyped to the point of absurdity by the national media. The famous 24/7 news cycle these days virtually guarantees that anything and everything will be used to fill the minutes and give talking heads a chance to scream at each other.
We're against any form of book burning. It is ultimately dangerous to the spirit of freedom of thought. And in this case, it was stupid as well.
No question it was going to inflame anti-American opinion in the Mideast -- at a time when we're desperately trying to convince the people there we're the good guys. It was the best recruiting tool the terrorists have had in ages and clearly could threaten American lives. Good job, Pastor Jones.
But bigotry and hate usually don't look at the consequences of their actions. In this case, you've got a guy with a gun laying on top of the Bible on his desk and admitting he's never read the Koran (he'd have been burning a number of the stories also contained in the Bible), and doing it all in the name of the Man of Peace. Hate in the name of Jesus. How hypocritical can you get.
When you start adopting the same tactics and rhetoric as the enemy, you've become the enemy. We need to show that we're different from them, not the same.
In the end, however, the world-wide impact of this controversy can be laid at the feet of our own national media and the shark-feeding frenzy of the 24/7 news cycle. It isn't necessary to cover every nut. It just encourages them.
In the end, cooler heads prevailed -- but most of the damage already had been done.
- -- Posted by supergramps on Wed, Sep 15, 2010, at 12:56 PM
- -- Posted by apetoid on Wed, Sep 15, 2010, at 4:01 PM
- -- Posted by lamont on Fri, Sep 17, 2010, at 6:21 PM
- -- Posted by apetoid on Sat, Sep 18, 2010, at 12:23 AM
- -- Posted by Mtn.Homer on Sat, Sep 18, 2010, at 8:21 AM
- -- Posted by lamont on Sat, Sep 18, 2010, at 9:08 AM
- -- Posted by MsMarylin on Sat, Sep 18, 2010, at 10:51 AM
- -- Posted by lamont on Sat, Sep 18, 2010, at 11:03 PM
- -- Posted by lamont on Sun, Sep 19, 2010, at 10:15 AM
- -- Posted by Eagle_eye on Sun, Sep 19, 2010, at 1:15 PM
- -- Posted by lamont on Sun, Sep 19, 2010, at 8:06 PM
- -- Posted by lamont on Wed, Sep 22, 2010, at 12:58 PM
- -- Posted by MsMarylin on Wed, Sep 22, 2010, at 3:49 PM
- -- Posted by lamont on Wed, Sep 22, 2010, at 9:15 PM
- -- Posted by lamont on Sun, Sep 26, 2010, at 10:28 PM
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