What a strange world this is, where power erupts in the tiniest of places and the smallest of men, disrupting events and threatening world peace. Our moment, like no other, permits a person with big but stupid ideas to instantaneously assume the role of a lead actor on the world stage, actually vying with established world leaders for the world’s attention. Forget Joe the Plumber, competing with McCain and Obama. He’s small potatoes. Think instead of Terry Jones, the Gainesville, Fla., Christian pastor who leads the tiniest of tiny Christian congregations—all told, maybe 30 or so souls. Everyone is watching with baited breath to see whether or not Pastor Jones and his followers will go ahead and publicly burn the Koran on September 11th on the front lawn of his house. His thinking is that this will demonstrate to bad Muslim radicals that they’re bad and that good Christians won’t take it any more.
Perhaps there’s a chance he’ll listen to reason. Maybe he’ll be dissuaded from his indecent idea by the countless condemnations of his plan made by faraway people, ranging from villagers to leaders—people living in places Pastor Jones has never visited, and will never fathom—as well as the condemnations made by our own national religious leaders, General Petraeus, the State Department, and the President. Maybe all of this will penetrate his thick skull and reach the religiously saturated brain that lives protected within it. Perhaps, but it’s a long shot. Reason and religion rarely comingle in men like this.
Pastor Jones is on record saying, “What we’re doing has no middle of the road. You have to believe it is totally, totally God or absolutely of the devil.” For the truly devout, what other road is there than the one he describes? But maybe his prayers, if uttered with enough earnestness between now and Saturday (he said on CNN that he is “definitely praying”) will result in God speaking directly to Pastor Jones. Maybe he’ll say something like, “Hey, Terry, listen up! Not a good idea, this idea you have to burn the Koran on your front lawn, with all the world watching.”
So, here we are, folks. In the age of high-speed communications, nuclear weaponry, genetic manipulation, supersonic jets, talk of exploring the sun and all the rest, we find ourselves waiting on tenterhooks to see if God will speak directly to an ignorant pastor in Gainesville, Florida. If God is busy, we’ll end up with made-to-order, iconic images of Americans standing around burning the Koran—spectacular, free images that will incite resentment (and violent actions) all over the world. And, with only slight variation, the iconic images taken of the burning Koran on the front lawn of this man, taken on September 11th, 2011, will resemble nothing so much as those of May 10, 1933, when Nazi-sympathizing university students (lots of students were passionate fascists at that point) stood around gleefully burning over 25,000 books deemed “un-German.”
As I said, what a strange world this is.
7 Responses to Waiting for Pastor Jones
trendisnotdestiny - September 8, 2010 at 7:25 pm
I am struck that very few people ever refer to Naomi Wolf’s book and now movie: The End of America… Apparently she researched how many of the world’s recent regimes fell into a fascist state. This book came out about four or five years ago and I am struck by so many of the things that have happened just previous, during and presently. She points to this as a proces of shutting down an open society:Patriot Act – DetainmentSurveillance – Data MiningFox/CNBC News – blurring media/politics through propagandaTorture – The dark sideOutsourcing our Armies – Xe or BlackwaterFinancial Crises – unemployed and indebted Debauched Currency – municipal and governmental debt explosionSo, burning books does not surprise me
livefreeordie2 - September 8, 2010 at 11:53 pm
trendisnotdestiny #1 and the blog author – Utter nonsense. This isn’t about book burning – certainly not in the Nazi sense. This is about one nut case trying to get his 15 minutes of fame and succeeding. I find Islam and it’s treatment of women to be the most despicable culture phenomenon on the planet. But burning copies of their roadmap to theocratic tyranny serves only to make the West look weak and scared. Rather than burning the Koran, we should be encouraging everyone in the West to read it. In that way, we can educate the populace on the potential for evil that lurks in the hearts of Muslim fundamentalists.
katiebeautifulkatie - September 9, 2010 at 7:27 am
Naomi Wolf? Please. TND, you’re better than that and there are many smarter writers on the subject. i’m surprised by your response in this comment. how weird for you to mention nw.
trendisnotdestiny - September 9, 2010 at 12:18 pm
@ livefreeFascism by definition is the merger between the state and industry. No one invoked Germany, Nazi’s or holocaust rhetoric. Fascism has a long history before the late 1920′s in Germany. My point is that book burning is about propaganda. When you combine this propaganda with the massive changes in our culture during the past 15 years (legislatively, statutorially and constitutionally)you have to admit that we have become more fascist in our actions (Katrina – Blackwater) (Governmental Bailout- Banks) (Supreme Court Decision – + Corporate Campaign Contributions(Rendition – Habeus Corpus) Lastly, livefree you have no credibility at all when talking Islam, fundamentalism or educating the populace. The consequences of six months of blathering, self-absorbed post means that your words are ultimately insignificant until you learn to read more about what you do not understand, admit when you do not know something and quit making up ignorant boiler plate ranting of far right in this country…Peace@ katieAre you suggesting that by bringing up something I read that this diminishes me? The fact that I reminded by her work is a negative. If you have read her, please provide a critique of her work so that you may inform all of us of her strengths and weaknesses (objections to her work). Also, of the so many who are much “smarter” writers, please name some who have written about fascism in America. Why is it weird? There is a movie being made (documentary) about her book. Lastly, I will take the position that just because I bring up a book, an author or a topic does not necessarily mean that I am enamored with it (I was reminded of it as I read Laurie’s article) . If you read my post carefully katie narcissistic katie, then you would have gleaned from my words that I am often surprised that she is not mentioned more especially during periods where fascist behavior is being test-modeled for a larger audience. I would love to hear your critique and am open to being challenged, but not being labelled weird (as you have not removed yourself from this category either just yet).Peace
mavprof - September 9, 2010 at 1:17 pm
trendisnotdestiny:Contra your obviously wrong claim that “[n]o one invoked Germany, Nazi’s [sic] or holocaust rhetoric,” livefreeordie2 correctly alluded to Ms Fendrich’s closing reference to Nazi book-burnings. Look to your own credibility in your ludicrous claim that “you have to admit that we have become more fascist in our actions” in contrast to livefreeordie2′s quite sensible remarks above.
goxewu - September 9, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Although the proportion and power of the Nazi book-burning and the Flordia pastor’s* are dissimilar, the intent and style of the deeds are quite alike: Take a book that you think is socially harmful and publically burn it as a protest. And for those of us who abhor book-burning, it’s general nature of the act–reading trumped by destructive fire–that’s more repulsive than the content. I loathe Ann Coulter’s books and think that she’s socially dangerous, but the last thing I’d ever do to express that opinion is burn her books in public.* It’s obvious that there’s no effective licensing of preachers. This guy has the legal power to marry people?
trendisnotdestiny - September 9, 2010 at 3:39 pm
@ mavprof You are quite right about my error. Thank you. Laurie’s article did contain references to Nazi bookburning (a second read would have uncovered that after my initial comment). What I had intended to say was that my post was not alluding to the Nazi’s so much as the concept of facism. Either way, you were right and was wrong!Now, could you educate us on your other remark? How is the idead that our country becoming more fascist is ludricrous? Any evidence that we have become more democratic? Any thing you would like to point to that counters the PPP (public-private partnership)? Or are you just spouting off about something you know so little about?