Jones and 9/11

I have been following the ridiculous story from Gainsville, Florida about the "minister" who was planning to burn copies of the Qu'ran today. This story has made me think long and hard about a lot of things, not the least of which is where he got the idea that burning any book, let alone the holy book of an entire culture, was a good idea. I mean, Hello! That rings of the Inquisition and Nazi Germany. Doesn't this man realize that not only could he have set American-Arab relations back decades, but he could have started a war between Christians and Muslims right here in the United States? Apparently he did even think about the ultimate consequences of his proposed actions.

The really amazing thing is that not only did he get INTERNATIONAL news coverage for this planned ploy, but his tiny little church has grown in it noteriety. Reminds me a lot of "Rev." Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Some how I get the feeling that Jones and Phelps are either good friends or are going to become so in the very near future. Look at it. Jones advocates the desecration of the Muslim holy book, Phelps protests the funerals of veterans who have died in the Persian Gulf (as well as men, women and children who have died from HIV/AIDS). Both claim that their actions are sanctioned by the First Amendment.

Well, they are correct....to an extent. The First Amendment gives U.S. citizens freedom of speech and freedom of religion. What it does not do is provide them with a carte blanche license to destroy the lives of others. Jones' proposed burning of the Qu'ran is the same thing as declaring war on Islam. Phelps' protesting of funerals (whether those of AIDS patients or of veterans) is the same thing as declaring war on their families.
I know that may sound extreme, but I do feel that way. The first I heard of Jones made me laugh. Truly, it did. I mean, here we are in the 21st Century. I really didn't think that someone who was educated in the United States would be so stupid as to believe that burning a book, any book, is a good thing. But, I should have known better. I would imagine that he and his congregation were also involved in the burning of copies of the Harry Potter books a few years ago. Anything to make a statement, right? Well, the statement that he has made is that he is an ignorant fool worthy of little more than my disdain. I feel the same way about Phelps and people of his ilk.

This is the United States. This is the 21st Century. We should be better than this. But we are not, as a whole. It is sad to say that there are many, many people in this country, in this world, who think like Jones and Phelps do. They think that they can take such atrocious actions to make their opinions heard. (Note, OPINIONS.) When it is so much simpler, and less scandalous, to make blog posts, press releases or even quiet demonstrations about your political and religious beliefs.

I really cannot think of anything to parallel these to two, other than Hitler and Nazi Germany. And I do not want to give them that kind of power. I know that writing this post I have given them some power. Hell, just the way I feel about these two and their shenanigans gives them some power. Thoughts have power, words have power, actions have power. I hope that by relating my thoughts to my readers in this manner will at least convey that I do not stand for such actions and that I do not want to see such thing happen again in my world.
Unforunately, I am a part of the same world as Jones and Phelps, as Bush and bin Laden. We all are. But we can take steps within our own lives to at least make our actions clear and positive, even when we are faced with disaster or persecution.

Please join me today as I remember the heroes that died on 9/11/01, those in the Towers, and those in the planes that went down and made this a very sad day for all Americans. Those heroes are men and women and children, they are white, black, Asian, Middle Eastern, they are Christian, Jew, and Muslim (and any number of other religions that were effected), they are straight, gay, bisexual and transgendered, they are Americans, Europeans, etc. They were people of this Earth and they were our Brothers and Sisters. All I ask is that you pause after reading this post and just remember them as heroes. We do not need to have a period of silence like they are having on Facebook and other social networks, we do not even need to have public demonstrations of mourning and remembrance, but we do need to remember. A world that can remember this tragedy is a world that will not let it happen again. A people who can move past the hate and the bitterness is a people that can prevent such things from happening elsewhere.

I am going to step off my soap box now and let you continue your day as you see fit. Thank you for taking the time to read this post.