I was going through my “Memories” page on Facebook Tuesday when I found a seven-year-old article about Terry Jones, the pastor who burned a Koran to observe 9/11. I had almost forgotten that incident. Perhaps many of you have also. It raised a question that I think needs to be addressed.
Burning the Koran is an inappropriate response to what a small number of people did in the name of Islam 17 years ago. Now, that is a real threat, because if even one (1) percent of Muslims are jihadists, that’s 1.6 MILLION. So we can’t afford to close out eyes to the danger of militant Islam.
But the militants are a small minority of the world’s Muslims. Burning the Koran is an insult to every Muslim. If a small percentage of the world’s Christians were carrying out acts of terror around the world to force Christianity on people — and murder them is they didn’t comply — would burning Bibles be appropriate, or would it be insulting to the entire Christian world? Furthermore, such an action inflames the tensions between our cultures. (Pun intended.)
We also understand that Pastor Jones has every right under our Constitution to perform that stupid, insensitive action. Similarly, Colin Kaepernick and the NFL kneelers have a constitutional right to protest. This is used as the defense of their actions, even though nobody disputes it.
But it is also indisputable that their action offends, just as Pastor Jones’s action did. So why is it that Pastor Jones is universally condemned, but Kaepernick is held up as some sort of hero and given a major endorsement deal from Nike?
If what Pastor Jones did was wrong, how does one justify what Kaepernick and the rest of the players are doing? How does insulting our symbols of national unity become a good way to get an endorsement deal?
I know that the players say they are not protesting America, but Kaepernick has called our country fundamentally racist and said he cannot stand for the anthem. That is a protest against America.
So I will ask again: why is one wrong and the other a ticket to a lucrative endorsement deal? is the left that vehemently against the principles on which our country is based? Are they so protective of their mythology that they will allow, even encourage, the country itself to be demeaned?
What’s the difference?
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