Let me say up front that I think Koran burning is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. In fact, I think what this little church in Florida is doing is actually harmful to the nation, their own safety and, unfortunately, the reputation and safety of Christians around the globe.
This is all kinds of stupid.
It’s also completely protected by the first amendment. In fact, it’s a two-fer involving both freedom of speech (remember, flag burning is free speech) and freedom of religion.
So where are the Democrats who, just a couple weeks ago, were lecturing us all on the inviolable first amendment? I assume all of those who supported the ground zero mosque are also in support of Koran burning in Florida, yes?
Actually, most of the supporters of Cordoba House seem to be pretty quiet about freedom of religion vis a vis Koran burning. On the chance they haven’t heard it before, let me offer liberals an argument that makes sense to me. The Florida church has the right to burn Korans, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. See how that works?
Finally, I have a question for the smart-alec sophists like Josh Marshall, Adam Serwer, Matt Yglesias and Justin Elliot, who had so much fun discussing the “mosque exclusion zone” a couple weeks ago…
How high can you heat a Koran without being unnecessarily provocative? Thanks to Ray Bradbury we all know that Fahrenheit 451 is a bridge too far. What about 449 degrees? 440? Would it in fact be equally problematic to supercool the Korans in liquid nitrogen (-346 degrees Farenheit) and tap them with a hammer? Could one of the Park51 proponents please enlighten us about the safe temperature range for the Koran?
As I pointed out last week, the mosque exclusion zone is literally an age old paradox (Eubilides Heap) which can be applied to any issue. In the political context it doesn’t seek to enlighten so much as ridicule. But now that the shoe is on the other foot, I don’t hear anyone laughing.