Burn A Koran Day

[Juniper]

This is really bugging me. I don't generally get too upset about political stuff--I keep up, I listen, I have opinions but don't usually find it worthwhile to bother expressing them. Yeah, I'm a wimp. But this one hit a nerve.

First off, I just flat-out on general principle think that burning books is seriously retarded. But that's just the literature-lover in me, I guess.

On a sentimental, nostalgic note, this reminds me of the Waltons episode in which the townsfolk got together to burn a bunch of books printed in German. John-Boy rescued one big book from the eager pastor's hands (John Ritter!) only to find that, to everyone's shock, it was the Bible! Lesson: if you destroy something an enemy holds dear, you risk destroying something you also might treasure. Or something like that.

See, in the old days, when they burned books they did it right--they gathered up copies from personal libraries. But in some backwater redneck town, who's gonna have a copy of the Koran? How are they going to GET enough of these books to have a respectable conflagration? Order a couple cases from Amazon? Does this not seem a bit illogical?

Support your Koran publisher! Special book-burning packages available, just ask for our Crazy Christian discount.

My oh, so conservative hubby says he's in favor of it. Says we're teaching them a lesson. We won't stand for this Islam invasion. After all, he says, they do it to us. And worse.

But, I said, can't we be . . . I dunno, better than that?

Screw that, he says. After we send all kinds of aid to their people in times of need, they still think we're the enemy.

Well yeah, but we're doing what is right. Helping.

I wanted to say: I'd rather die doing what is right than live knowing I'd done something ethically wrong to protect myself. But I'm nowhere near that good. I'm certainly no Mother Theresa.

But you know, that's not really the point. The point is, if you're gonna have a protest, do it right. Don't support your enemies in the process.