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THE WOODWARD REPORT
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THE WOODWARD REPORT
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9/11 Victims Put On Backburner, Desecration of Koran Grabs Headlines
World Trade Center BombingOn a day where numerous memorials were held marking the 9th anniversary of the thousands killed in the September 11th terror attacks, remembering the fallen was far from the lead story. There is a deepening religious divide growing inside this country. The proposed mosque near ground zero and the planned Koran burnings have sparked the divide and government officials have failed to provide adequate leadership in regards to those issues. The rhetoric issued by government officials and political pundits concerning the proposed burning of the Koran on September 11th was as outlandish as it was appalling. Hillary Clinton stated that “it's regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distressful, disgraceful plan and get, you know, the world's attention.” By addressing the issue on national television Mrs. Clinton intensified the very situation that she abhors. By making those comments, the Secretary of State increased the publicity of this otherwise insignificant group.
General Petraeus Claims Burning of Korans Endanger U.S. Troops
General PetraeusMake no mistake about it, people that feel compelled to burn holy books are nut jobs and attention seekers. What exactly do they hope to accomplish? However, to state as many have and as General Petraeus blatantly did, that such acts will put American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan in increased danger is not only asinine, it is cowardly and concessionary.
How exactly will U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan incur more of a risk because a few crazies burn a Koran. Is the Taliban and its fighters suddenly going to fight harder and be more strategic about killing their enemy? Prior to the Koran burnings the Taliban only half-heartedly wanted to defeat their enemy. However, now that a pastor in Florida compiled a Koran burning event, which he then canceled, a few private burnings were held in Tennessee, and a sprinkling of others tore pages from the Koran in front of the White House, the Taliban may be able to acquire nuclear weaponry and use it against the U.S. military. What a disgraceful statement that the top war General issued.
In addition, the conjecture that Americans in Muslim populated countries or soldiers at a military base, near where two other imbeciles burned Korans, are put in danger and therefore such acts should not be taken is a show of complete cowardice. What does it say about the religion of Islam that when something is done that maybe offensive the immediate consensus is that American and Christian lives are then in danger? These same people issuing these warnings of violence also often refer to the religion as incredibly peaceful. If it is so peaceful than what is there to worry about?
A certain strain of Islam is responsible for the death of thousands on September 11th 20001. At present, plans have been given the go ahead to build a Mosque 2 blocks from the site of the massacre. How come no one is warning the Imam that Muslims may be in danger because Christians are being offended? How come Muslims somehow retain the special right to not be offended? How come when they are offended, whether it be by those “blasphemous” Danish cartoons or Koran burnings, immediately there are threats of violence? Now, we know that it is not the majority of Muslims doing this but where is the condemnation from the Muslim community for the threats of violence?
Irrational Evil in the Name of Religion
I am not attempting to demonize Islam while advocating others . Rather, I am asserting that religion is many times responsible for irrational acts of violence. Religion can be used for many good things but it is also the root of much evil. It just so happens that at this point in time certain tenants of Islam happen to be the main instigators of violence in the name of religion. The Catholic Church has quite a history itself. They popularized the term fascism and claimed it for itself. They have had a multitude of clergymen who have molested young boys. I don’t have the time and you don’t have the patience to review the mishaps of different religions, but the point is that no individual or group should have the right to be exempt from ridicule in the name of religion. If certain crazies want to burn the Koran let them do it and be on their way. The media and government officials are the ones responsible for blowing this story up.
The thing about religion that makes it so poisonous is that the majority of its subscribers do not consider the notion that they may be wrong. No one is more confident than a religious believer. Stock analysts, sports prognosticators, and political pundits may all be quite confident in their particular stance but they understand that there are other legitimate views and that there is a possibility of error. When their view is in error they do not go to every length in order to somehow justify that error. They admit their wrong and they move on. It generally does not work that way in religious circles. Add to that the one’s eternal bliss or damnation is at stake and disagreements take on an entirely different intensity.
If you are having trouble following the logic let me provide an example. What if a certain groups decided to burn Ayn Rand’s books or Adam Smith’s a Wealth of Nations or Karl Marx’s a Communist Manifesto or Plato’s Republic or a slew of liberal author’s books? Would the people who hold such books as the backbone of their political and philosophical views threaten the individuals who burned those books lives?
What is this nonsense about violence being initiated because someone burns a book? Does it make one’s religion any less true? Has it hurt anyone in anyway? The media and government officials condemn the instigators of the burnings all the while they are responsible for propelling the story into a world wide headline. Had they chosen to ignore it, and let those people exercise their freedom of expression, the situation would have garnered little attention and the hoopla would have been avoided.
Instead, the media and government officials have become so afraid of offending Muslims they rush to try to condemn or prevent any offensive speech or acts. In the process they only make things worse by creating a global story out of an obscure 50 person church. In addition they gave the purveyors of this nonsense exactly what they wanted, lots of attention.
The thing about religion that makes it so poisonous is that the majority of its subscribers do not consider the notion that they may be wrong. No one is more confident than a religious believer. Stock analysts, sports prognosticators, and political pundits may all be quite confident in their particular stance but they understand that there are other legitimate views and that there is a possibility of error. When their view is in error they do not go to every length in order to somehow justify that error. They admit their wrong and they move on. It generally does not work that way in religious circles. Add to that the one’s eternal bliss or damnation is at stake and disagreements take on an entirely different intensity.
If you are having trouble following the logic let me provide an example. What if a certain groups decided to burn Ayn Rand’s books or Adam Smith’s a Wealth of Nations or Karl Marx’s a Communist Manifesto or Plato’s Republic or a slew of liberal author’s books? Would the people who hold such books as the backbone of their political and philosophical views threaten the individuals who burned those books lives?
What is this nonsense about violence being initiated because someone burns a book? Does it make one’s religion any less true? Has it hurt anyone in anyway? The media and government officials condemn the instigators of the burnings all the while they are responsible for propelling the story into a world wide headline. Had they chosen to ignore it, and let those people exercise their freedom of expression, the situation would have garnered little attention and the hoopla would have been avoided.
Instead, the media and government officials have become so afraid of offending Muslims they rush to try to condemn or prevent any offensive speech or acts. In the process they only make things worse by creating a global story out of an obscure 50 person church. In addition they gave the purveyors of this nonsense exactly what they wanted, lots of attention.
