Fahrenheit 451 Redux by Michael J. Solender

Subscribe to Dewsletter | Login

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Sections

Political DewTubes

Click to view more DewTubes – fresh most days

Watch videos at Vodpod and more of my videos

Fahrenheit 451 Redux

by Michael J. Solender | 24, Add your Comment | Sep 9, 2010

Is It Hot in Here Or Is Your Koran on Fire?

For a wacko preacher of a church with less than fifty members, the pastor of the Gainesville congregation Dove Outreach Center Terry Jones, has proven himself a master promoter and genius in generating worldwide press coverage that corporate marketers with zillion dollar budgets can only dream about. It seems going public with his intention to stage a Koran burning and weenie roast — now canceled — from the front porch of his sparsely attended church to celebrate the 9/11 anniversary got a few folks, from President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton and General David Petraeus, worked up into more than a spot of bother.

Denunciation and repudiation are the order of the day in dealing with such hate, bigotry and ignorance. No one on the world stage could believe these acts represent mainstream American thinking or values any more than Americans believe that all Muslims are terrorists… wait a minute… they aren’t – are they?

Uh oh. Doesn’t anyone see the irony in what these actions are highlighting? Even more dangerous than Jones’ actions are the broad brush strokes that propagandists and the citizenry of the world are using in showcasing the Florida cook-out as representative of American sentiment towards Islam and those “different” from the rest of us. Are there lessons here for us?

The more coverage the media provides to the bonfire, the more Jones and like minded hate mongers triumph in propagating their message. You don’t need me to tell you, this is indeed an incendiary situation.

Dousing the klieg lights and the tons of ink wasted on fringe radicals like Jones will go further than well intentioned rhetoric and any hook and ladder crew with hoses at the ready.

They’ve had their fifteen minutes of fame. It’s time to move on and not fan these flames with even more coverage.

###

About Michael J. Solender

Michael J. Solender is a recent corporate refugee whose opinion and satire has been featured in The Richmond Times Dispatch, The Winston-Salem Journal, and Richmond Style Weekly. He writes a weekly Neighborhoods column for The Charlotte Observer and is the City Life Editor for Charlotte ViewPoint. His micro-fiction has been featured online at Bull Men’s Fiction, Calliope Nerve, Danse Macabre, Dogzplot, Gloom Cupboard, Full of Crow, Pangur Ban Party and others.

You can find more of his work at his website and also at his blog.

Recents posts by Michael J. Solender

http://www.littlewallaby.com Frank Povah

If only we could. Trouble is there is also an element of “well thank goodness we’re not like that” to all this and so we can all sit glued to our teevee to tut-tut at this good shepherd and the antics of his sheep.

What makes me sad is that he has besmirched the name of a bird that has had at least a 6000-year association with mankind and for long has been used as symbol of the sacred by the three Eastern religions of which his is one. Is he aware that the pigeon/dove is as holy a symbol in Islam as it is in the faith to which he purports to adhere.
Vincent Allen

The whole thing is stupid and narrow-minded and certainly should not be done, and if it is done then it should not be promoted as a news-worthy event. On the other hand, the beating that I frequently take on Facebook whenever I speak out against the intolerance of the conservative/evangelical right causes me to pause and wonder if there are really not significantly more than the 50 nut-jobs in Florida who blindly follow this kind of idiotic idea. Why in God’s name would anybody in their right mind seek to further incite and perpetuate a holy war. The whole thing is crazy and makes me more than a little sad. I am proud to live in a country where even the fringe elements can enjoy freedom of speech, but I will be very happy and even more proud when we can say that we live in a country that is most free of hate and prejudice. I wonder what the reaction will be when they start burning the Bible at mosques around the globe?

http://www.littlewallaby.com Frank Povah

I doubt they will -- to devout Muslims, the Bible is also a Holy Book and Christians (and Jews) “people of the book”.

But I could just about guarantee that if I went down there and burned a stack of Bibles I would be more roundly denounced (and possibly shot) by ALL sectors of society and the media and perhaps forcibly restrained from doing so,

However, I wouldn’t do this, not because I think the Bible (or Koran, Torah or whatever) is particularly holy – or the word of a god – but because it is a book and it was books and the ability to read them that set idiots like this so-called pastor free from the darkness of illiteracy. Incidentally, it was this potential in books that was seen as so dangerous by the religious elite that they and their titled allies goaded the poor and ignorant into destroying presses, claiming they were the works of a devil.

http://notfromhereareyou.blogspot.com/ Michael J. Solender

That any educated individual can think ideas and thought can be eradicated by burning words on a page is unfathomable to me. What was not as explicate in my piece and what I should have highlighted was that this man knows exactly what he is doing and understands very well these actions will have NO bearing on his crusade against Islam.

He is another in a long line of zealots and demagogues who place their own need for recognition and celebrity ahead of engaging in legitimate discourse and discussion.

Unfortunately given the everyday divisiveness that exists in our society (re:Democrats and Republicans) it is no wonder that where religion, values and beliefs are involved, the ” my-way-or-the-highway” school of thought seems to trump reason, logic and tolerance every time.

Rich Quattrone

I’m actually embarrassed to say I live in the same State as this idiot ! If something stupid is happening, 90% of the time, it’s in Florida ! Sheesh.
What most people don’t know is this fool is running a FURNATURE STORE out of his “Church”, and has been in huge trouble for Tax Evasion.
I firmly believe he is just doing this to make his “mark” and get his 5 minutes of fame.
He’ll probably be shot within 6 months anyway !
RQ

Marietta Mary

As a librarian — and the holder of an “adult” library card since about the age of 9 or 10, anything resembling book burning (or banning) catches my attention. “Fahrenheit 451″ has become so tattered, I have had to buy more than just a few copies. On the one hand, I want to drive down to Florida, armed with fire extinguishers; on the other, I hope the “Rev. Jones” and his ilk fade away till they are no more than just entries in Google from August/September 2010. Either path seems futile. PS Wonder if he’s even read any of the book he wants to burn? Doubt it.
http://www.lynn-alexander.com LynnAlexander

I’m pretty blown away by the amount of publicity this has gotten! Now if we could only think of a stunt to call attention to things like respect…

http://www.littlewallaby.com Frank Povah

I can see the headline now: Gay Pastor cedes seat to female Muslim doctor on NY subway

Gita Smith

Yesterday I was asking myself why Anderson Cooper and everyone else from Newsweek to NPR was giving Pastor Shit-For-Brains airtime and ink. In my view, the best thing to do right now would be turn off the cameras, go away and NOT film the Quran burnings. Stroking his sick ego with media attention is not going to stop him (and copycats who are sure to follow).
http://hannah.smith-family.com/ Monica Smith

Terry Jones has been around Gainesville for a long time. During a hiatus, it seems he settled for a few years in Germany, where he had up to a thousand followers, until he was thrown out of the country for tax evasion. There are questions being raised about his free-labor furniture factory and the legitimacy of his tax-exempt status. Perhaps he’s preemptively setting up a defense of being persecuted for his religious beliefs when the tax man comes after him.

It may be that Jones is the copy-cat — motivated by the celebrity attained by Imam Rauf of Park 51, who’s been planning to build a mosque for over ten years in New York and who, according to the New York Post, has been claiming church status for his wife’s one-bedroom apartment in a high-rise.

The IRS has been trying to get a handle on “establishments of religion” and trying to validate their service to mankind. Churches are now obligated to file a form 1023. Not-for-profit educational groups are also no required to submit an annual report, even if they don’t take in more than $25,000 a year. Previously, such small operations were exempt from filing any kind of report.

New churches seem to be sprouting like mushrooms. Brunswick, GA, on the mainland has a population 16,500 and 162 churches, many newly sited in vacated store-fronts and other commercial buildings. How to start a new church is a popular topic; probably not quite as popular as how to make a million in real estate, but …..

The purveyors of moral counsel seem to have discovered, as have politicians, that people will give you money if you ask and, if there’s no tangible things promised in exchange, delivering nothing is not fraud. Where the young Republicans went wrong a couple of years ago was in promising that the lapel pins people were buying were all going to be worn by the President at his inauguration. That netted a conviction for fraud.
http://leslieevanscreative.com Lee Leslie

Tough issues. Free speech is a mighty important right to protect, but I seem to remember something from PolySci 101… Brandenburg v Ohio, which I believe is still the law of the land, ruling that limiting speech is only permitted when the speech is likely to incite imminent lawless action such as a riot. Isn’t a riot exactly what will happen? Or does the recent precedent of South Park v World, which aired an episode showing the prophet Mohammed dressed in a bear costume trump this?

http://www.littlewallaby.com Frank Povah

Lee – the right to free speech is important, but I fail to see how burning a book of any kind qualifies as free speech. Unless free speech and free expression are one and the same, in which case do I have the perfect right to walk around naked in my front yard without fear of reprisals from the law?

Am I missing something here?

http://leslieevanscreative.com Lee Leslie

Frank, before walking naked in your front yard, I strongly encourage you get proper counsel from a constitutional attorney (that’s the type of speech that qualifies you for a lifetime membership on the sex offender registry). However, freedom of expression is generally covered by as non-speech speech and protected under the First Amendment -- not a lot of case law, however, and bet the Roberts’ court would love to make some.

http://www.littlewallaby.com Frank Povah

Perhaps it’s just as well I can’t. The world will be spared the sight (though tastefully blurred for the genteel teevee audience that can’t stand anything more revealing than gory, simulated gunshot wounds in crime melodramas) of a body which, though not yet at its use-by date, is, I will admit, no longer of a sort to inspire breathlessness or the vapors in women other than those with morbid phobias about invading aliens or Tolkeinesque creatures from some weird parallel universe.
http://www.littlewallaby.com Frank Povah

PS: Did you see the news clip I mention below?

Darby

Does anyone here feel like they are preaching to the choir?

http://www.littlewallaby.com Frank Povah

Well said, Darby. Preaching to the converted, indeed.

Unfortunately the forces of selfishness have the means to reach a wider audience.

I note on NBC news last night a feel-good piece – or treated as such at least – about a church and congregation in Tennessee that have opened the doors to the local Muslim community and asked them to use their church for prayer until a mosque is built, a project with which the local Christians are assisting.

Why isn’t this receiving the same coverage as that given to that hate-filled, self-sanctified, bigoted, corn-flakes box theologian in Florida?

JoelG

A friend of mine proposed that we launch International Burn “Eat, Pray, Love” Day instead. Seems like a much better idea!
J. Morgan Willis

Amen, amen and amen to all the comments above. This charlatan pretends to be a Christian, but he obviously knows nothing about Christianity. He seeks the limelight at whatever costs. And yes, we are all preaching to the choir. Why has there not been a public outcry? We know he does not speak for all Christians (if any), and we know the terrorists do not represent all Muslims. Each of our varying religions and those who practice them deserve respect so long as they do no harm to others.
http://www.springbrooktrees.com Farmer Dave

Michael, I loved your commentary. The opening line was killer. Yeah this guy is a charlatan and a nut case so a group of Muslims get together and burn the USA flag. Is there anybody in Islam giving them hell the way we are giving hell to this nut case in Florida. No, it is just business as usual and everybody seems to say it is our fault. Well I’m tired of everything being our fault and I’m proud to be an American! They declare Jihad against us and we swoon at every opportunity. It is time for a President that has served in the military and will not apologize to the world for what has transpired in the past. I want a guy that will stand up and say we are the United States of America and we are mad as hell and we are not going to take it any more. Islam wants to build a mosque at ground zero to celebrate 9/11 and the politically correct faction of my countrymen say -- no problem. It is a problem. I don’t want Islam to glorify the killing of over 3000 innocent civilians. If they had attacked with uniformed soldiers and kicked our ass then that is different. They did not. Cowardly bastards fly airplanes into buildings and kill unarmed civilians and they should not be allowed to celebrate that in this country. What the hell is going on with you people? Is nothing so out of bounds that you would not protest it? Who cares if all Muslims are not terrorrists? A lot of them are and they are killing people daily. Stop apologizing for them and say enough is enough. Is there nobody on this ultra liberal blog willing to fight the good fight? I am. So everybody get up, open your window and yell to the street as loud as you can -- I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore. The more people yell the more this pantywaist administration will hear.

http://www.billyhoward.com Billy Howard

Of course if you made an attempt to find the truth in your argument you would understand that number one, they are not building a mosque and that number two, it is a center to bring people together, not estrange them. The jihadist have already won their war with you, they have turned you from an American into a fear mongering religious bigot, which, of course, is a very un-American thing. The former President, allegedly the kind of warrior President you yearn for, said very forcefully after 9-11 that our country would not and should not be against Islam and Muslims. You, apparently, weren’t listening.

http://www.jackdejarnette.org Jack deJarnette

How can I possibly keep quiet? I am embarrassed, infuriated, insulted and PISSED OFF. Here is this man, Dr. Terry Jones who by using the label Christian sucks me into his vortex of hateful bile. There are actually people who will buy into his invective and associate it with mainstream Christianity.

As this saga has unfolded, I have developed a deep appreciation as to what moderate Muslims must feel each time a radical commits a heinous deed. There is no way that “terrible Terry” represents the Jesus that I follow.

Something else pisses me off as I am thinking about this entire episode. I am an Evangelical Christian. I am not a right wing extremist. The equating of the two is just wrong. As an Evangelical, I believe the true message of Jesus was and is unconditional love; not of some, but of all. We who claim to be Jesus followers are not called to sit in judgment of others, regardless of race, religious preference, ethnicity, or sexual persuasion.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel in which I believe, but I am deeply ashamed of those who twist the Gospel to fit into their own perverted prejudices. I pray for “terrible Terry” that he will have an epiphany and come to know the Jesus as Jesus is.

I am totally intolerant of those who are intolerant. Figure that one out if you can.
Jim Fitzgerald

Farmer Dave,

I read your statement “Islam wants to build a mosque at ground zero to celebrate 9/11 …” and realized that if I believed they were building the mosque to CELEBRATE 9/11 as a victory for Islam, I, too, would be upset.

So I did some background work trying to see if, in fact, they were intending this to reflect some type of victory over us. Maybe you have sources I could not find but the history of Cordoba, and the use of the word, does not appear to support any sort of victory over us.

As near as I could determine, Muslims conquered the part of Spain that included the city of Cordoba between 711 and 718 AD. Even though the christian church was started in 600 AD, the Muslims did not start to turn it into a mosque until 784 AD, some 68 years later after they conquered the city of Cordoba. That would not suggest that the name Cordoba or the conversion of a christian church into a mosque reflects a victory statement or intent.

It would help to understand your position if you would document your statement and explain how you arrived at your conclusion.
Cliff Green

The farmer wrote: “It is time for a President that has served in the military and will not apologize to the world for what has transpired in the past.”
Did you vote for John Kerry in 2004? If not, you missed your chance.

Reading: Politics

Click here for more stories.
Point to view excerpt.
Click headline to view story.

LikeTheDew.com

Sections

Political DewTubes

Fahrenheit 451 Redux

About Michael J. Solender

Recents posts by Michael J. Solender

Reading: Politics

Political Insider

Politics : The Atlantic

Politics Daily