Everyone should know now about the controversy involving a Florida Pastor, Rev. Terry Jones, his church, a few copies of the Muslim Holy Book, the Quran, and an Islamic center and mosque being built on ground zero (where the Twin Towers were destroyed). If you don't, allow me to fill you in.
Rev. Terry Jones has threatened to create a protest on September 11, 2010, a demonstration to burn the Quran, in against the building of an Islamic center and mosque on ground zero. The news is frantically covering this story, turning it into the controversy that it has begun, and slightly, the government is even stepping in, not to interfere, (as technically they can't due the Pastor's first amendment rights), but to make statements against it. This has caused a fear in the public that this demonstration is not only wrong, but may even threaten the lives of the soldiers over in Islamic territories.
This is the controversy. Now, here's the problem with this story: the pastor is repeatedly changing his mind on whether he is going to go through with the burning or not, by stating that he is "reconsidering" or "going through with it." What does that say about him? And what does it say about his intentions?
Personally, I think the only reason why this is becoming such a huge controversy, and why this man keeps changing his mind, is that this man is craving and addicted to having attention. In fact, this wouldn't even be a national controversy if the media wasn't covering it and giving him the attention that he is looking for. Does that mean that this story shouldn't news? No, it is news worthy, because it is appealing to the public, but it shouldn't be a national news story. If the media wasn't covering this, then it would only stay local to the specific area that this is happening in, and this man probably wouldn't be effecting so many people as he is now. If only the local news had stayed with this story and it wasn't leaked to other places, this man wouldn't be getting the attention, it wouldn't even be a controversy, and it most likely wouldn't be happening.
Another question that I pose for this man, specifically, is how did the media even learn about this story? Did he inform them, did his congregation inform them, was it leaked to the media from his fellowship? And why is he endangering his life, the lives of his fellowship, and the lives of his fellow church-goers by making such a threat? Murder is against the law in the United States, but to the extremists and radicalists of this religion overseas, this is what they would willingly sacrifice their lives for just to take his life and the lives of his church.
Also, doesn't he realize that he is lowering himself to the level of the men who destroyed the Twin Towers nine years ago? He's using a threat of violence (technically, this is a violent act against a religion and faith) to get what he wants and blackmail a group of people into doing what he needs. He's diminishing himself to a level of scum and deception. As well as being a hypocrite, as a reverend is meant to preach peacefulness, kindness, and respect under God's law towards your fellow man, no matter what religion the other man follows. It's a very hypocritical, sneaky, and suspicious method that this man is taking just to get some attention.
So, why do we give him attention? Why do we post this story in the national news and media? Why do we make it such a huge controversy that it has become? We don't need to. If the media hadn't blown this up larger than what it was, then this man wouldn't have the attention he has, his threat wouldn't be such a huge act of terror, and possibly, he wouldn't even go through with it, as it wouldn't get him what he wanted.
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