First General Petraeus and now President Obama have now condemned the marketing genius in Florida who has gained international fame by threatening to burn Korans.
If this one crazy preacher follows through on his threat, Petraeus and Obama warn, outraged Muslims will start killing American troops.
That a single nut with a tiny following can provoke a response from both a top military general and the president of the country is shocking.
And it raises some questions:
- Does our government and military support freedom of speech as long as it doesn't offend anyone who might get violent?
- Are we now so scared of murderous jihadists that we need to restrict basic American freedoms to protect ourselves from them?
No, we are not applauding Koran-burning. No, we don't advocate needlessly offending violent extemists. But we are appalled that a silly stunt like this has commanded so much attention.
Don't people burn bibles?
If not, why not?
Plenty of people hate the bible and what it stands for. Burning bibles might piss some people off enough that it, too, would be an effective marketing stunt. And there's no law against burning books in this country.
America is supposed to be a country that supports religious freedom. And "religious freedom" includes the right to publicly trash other religions. Members of different religions often hate and pillory each other. It goes with the territory.
So why are our president and most important general trying to change that in this case? Because some jihadists might get even angrier?
That's wimpy. It's also un-American.
So go ahead and burn your Korans, Mr. Jones. Hopefully, the vast majority of the country and world will just give this stunt the attention it deserves--none.
See Also: ISLAMOPHOBIA SWEEPS THE NATION