Last month, a whacked out Floridian "pastor" burned the Islamic holy book, the Quran, after putting it on a mock trial. This event was deemed newsworthy by some and the news traveled to Afghanistan, where U.S. servicemembers are putting their lives at risk in defense of our great nation.
Once the news reached the people of Afghanistan, thousands went out in the street to protest. These protests got violent and ended up resulting in the deaths of over 20 people. Beyond that, these protesters now have yet another reason to try and kill U.S. servicemembers who are deployed there.
Some Senators have thought about taking action against this pastor, but as we all know there is very little chance that can be done. As Jack Cafferty states, "It's not clear he broke any U.S. laws, just the law against stupidity."
Although this speech may be protected, I think it serves as a grim reminder that although our words may be protected, we have a personal duty and responsibility to try and utilize our First Amendment rights in a way that best serves not only our society, but the world at large.
For more information on the Quran burning issue, please go to: http://www.cnn.com
Jack Cafferty's Blog on the issue: http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/04/should-anything-be-done-about-the-pastor-in-florida-who-burned-the-quran/?iref=allsearch
What a jerk! Who in their right mind burns a holy book? Even if you don't believe in what it teaches, that is not right. He was sending a strong message, but unfortunately he sent it from all of us, who don't necessarily agree with him. People, especially people in the public eye need to be more conscientious of what they are saying. The First Amendment is a right, but should be treated as a privilege. Because of the actions of one ignorant person, others have to pay. That is not right. Thanks for sharing this story Scott!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and Rachel. When I first heard this story, all I could think was, "what an idiot." I'm not sure what point he was trying to get across, but this was definitely not the way to do it. As Rachel said, the First AMendment is a right, and should be treated as a privilege - just because you can do something, does not mean that you should do it, or that it is an effective way to get your point across.
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ReplyDeleteThird time is the charm...
ReplyDeleteI can only wonder at what the pastor's motivations were. It seems like an inherently tolerant act. What type of discourse would such an act promote? Rather than promoting speech, burning a book seems clearly to limit speech.
I agree with Jack Cafferty, becuase there was no First Amendment breach, becuase the violence did not occur here. What he did was very stupid, but there is no law against being an idiot.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the Pastor may have been motivated by religious or political objections to the Quran. Talk about being religiously intolerant, disrepectful, and limit religous speech.
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