Here we are again, in the midst of a media frenzy; ramped up emotions, statements by military officials, "church" figures, national and international drama. Entire groups of people are being lumped into neat little packages and judgement is passed accordingly, and loudly. All this because a pastor of a church with a congregation of about 50 in Florida threatens to burn a Koran if the proposed mosque near the site of 9-11 is not re-located. Veiled, and not so veiled threats are made if one side, or the other, doesn't get their way. People all over the world are fussing about it.
This is the way the world solves problems anymore, apparently. No direct communication, no options for compromise. It goes straight to the hate, and the negative energy, and the implied violence, or outright violence. It's disgusting. It's almost like savages, barely humans, the way people treat each other anymore. But, what I find even more disgusting is how ignorant people are of the issues they are screaming about. I think the majority of the screamers in the US have read, at least part of, the Bible. The Rev. Jones' group most certainly has. But, what about the Koran?
You don't have to be Muslim to read it. You can even get it for your iPOD, these days....just like the Bible, and most other books of any importance. I have had a hard copy of the Koran for years. I am old fashioned - I like turning pages and knowing exactly what came off the press, before they get "Googleized". As long as you are reading that Koran or Bible in the United States, you are well within your right to do so; unlike being able to do the same with a Bible in other countries. In some other countries, you can't even take a Bible in with you; without it being confiscated and burned, or confiscated and thrown in the trash. Seems like a double standard in a way, eh? Kind of like Mexico complaining about US immigration laws.
So I guess the point would be, instead of suggesting book burnings, I vote for book READINGS, and LOTS of them. If one only reads that with which one agrees, how is one to determine that with which one does NOT agree? Imagine if We the People's representatives in government actually read bills before they voted on them, and even better yet, let US read them too? Imagine what kind of world THAT would create! Maybe a more respectful one...one with much less screaming, and stomping, and burning, but with better understanding, and more standing up for what really IS in all our best interests.
