THE LAST ROUNDUP

Terry Jones can burn a Koran if he wants to.

Not only that, he can also burn a Bible, a book on logic, or even a certain well-known book by George Orwell.

However, the latter books, in particular, might be a useful reference to have around these days to understand the doublespeak and groveling subservience to oppression exhibited by the worthless media:

Over a week ago, we discussed the relative lack of coverage of a burning of a Koran some days earlier in Florida. The overwhelming response from readers to that post was that they hadn’t even heard about the burning. It was interesting to compare the non-stop, over-the-top coverage from last fall with the more appropriate and restrained coverage in recent weeks.

But now that mobs in Afghanistan murdered nine humans and injured 81 others in response to the burning of the book, we’re seeing much more coverage. And the coverage is very interesting. It reminds me of something I was taught in college about rape. Basically, no matter how short the skirt the girl’s wearing, she doesn’t deserve to be raped. I always thought it was also wise to dress modestly but that wasn’t the point. The point was that the rapist is responsible for the rape, not the victim or society.

Murdering people who have nothing to do with the Koran burning is another animal from rape entirely, but it is still surprising to me to see how the media suggests that the pastor who oversaw the Koran burning — Terry Jones — is responsible for murders he didn’t commit.

So, for instance, here is NBC reporter Luke Russert on Twitter:

11 people lost their lives so Terry Jones could burn a Koran and feed the 24/7 news monster http://abcn.ws/gzoJhH

Here’s The Guardian’s headline:

Terry Jones defiant despite murders in Afghanistan over Qur’an burning
US pastor is showing no regrets about an act of hatred that provoked a massacre of UN staff amid deadly riots

USA Today’s been covering the story and religion reporter Cathy Grossman asks:

Who’s responsible for the death in in Afghanistan today? The mob fired the guns but who handed them the ammunition? The news media? Or Terry Jones?

Um, the people who killed are responsible for the killing (unless, again, we think Muslims are subhuman or something). But apart from that, consider the major missing link in between Terry Jones and the mob. Here are some key details from someone at UN Dispatch on the ground in Kabul:

Tonight, the governor of Balkh province (of which Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital) is telling the international media that the men who sacked the UN compound were Taliban infiltrators. That’s rubbish. Local clerics drove around the city with megaphones yesterday, calling residents to protest the actions of a small group of attention-seeking, bigoted Americans. Then, during today’s protest, someone announced that not just one, but hundreds of Korans had been burned in America. A throng of enraged men rushed the gates of the UN compound, determined to draw blood. Had the attackers been gunmen, they would likely have been killed before they could breach the compound.....

This key detail — about how some middlemen fan the flames — was also under reported in stories about the Danish cartoons. Not that killing people or destroying buildings in response to cartoons is ever justified, but it’s also worth noting that clerics drafted new cartoons — far more offensive than anything that was actually published — and passed them off as also having been published. One picture they passed around was of a French comedian in a pig-squealing contest (complete with snout). But they claimed it ran in a paper with the caption, “Here is the real image of Mohammed.” So our options for considering who is responsible for the death and destruction in Afghanistan in recent days has to extend beyond the choices given above. And we can only get that full story with more thorough reporting — reporting that’s hard to do if we’re all obsessed about covering the relatively easy-to-cover and relatively accessible and English-speaking Terry Jones.

The great British philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty, "Strange it is, that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free discussion, but object to their being 'pushed to an extreme'; not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good for any case."

The burning of Korans or any "sacred" book; the blasphemous art of a "Piss Jesus"; or the publication of some relatively inoffensive Danish Cartoons all raise the most important issue of our times: freedom of expression.

Are we in the west going to cave into pressure from societies with a medieval mindset, or are we going to defend our most precious freedom -- freedom of expression, a freedom for which thousands of people have paid the ultimate sacrifice?

Why the hell are we supporting rebels in Libya, if not for this freedom? Why have we spent our blood and treasure in Iraq and Afghanistan if not to stand up for this most precious value?

The most frightening thought in all this is that we no longer value freedom here in the West--at least not enough to unequivocally condemn the murdering barbarians of a medieval culture.

It has been said that, "A democracy cannot survive long without freedom of expression, the freedom to argue, to dissent, even to insult and offend. It is a freedom sorely lacking in the Islamic world, and without it Islam will remain unassailed in its dogmatic, fanatical, medieval fortress; ossified, totalitarian and intolerant. Without this fundamental freedom, Islam will continue to stifle thought, human rights, individuality; originality and truth."

The timidity of the media and the placing of blame for the horrific violence and mayhem going on now in Afghanistan brings up yet again what I consider to be a key issue in the decline of our culture: Western institutions no longer seem to be able to defend and stand up for the very fundamental ideas on which they are based

This sad situation, I submit, is the direct result of the West's descent into the abyss of political correctness and cultural relativity. This descent has been fueled by the ascent of postmodern political rhetoric which, among other things, rejects reason and rationality in political discourse and behavior.

The dual insanity and subversivenss of these two hallmarks of leftist thought are brought together in the following common, but wholly contradictory, threads of politically correct postmodern rhetoric: On the one hand, all cultures are equally deserving of respect; on the other, Western culture is uniquely destructive and bad.

This is why there is such a rush to condemn the evil Terry Jones. Not so much the poor, helpless Islamic murderers.

Let me be blunt. I don't care if anyone is upset or offended by the silly actions of a Terry Jones; or the inoffensiveness of some equally silly and intrinsically harmless cartoons.

I don't care if Korans get flushed, diced, sliced or pureed.

What I care about is the violent and irrational behavior repeatedly exhibited by Muslims the world over, as they scream and burn and generally throw a hissy fit and act like the thugees in their worship of Kali. The controversy is not about Terry Jones or the cartoonists; or even about Salmon Rushdie (who still has a death fatwa over his head after all these years).

It is about freedom. It is about choice. It is about standing up for the values of Western Civilization.

I may disagree with Pastor Jones (almost as intensely as I do with Obams's Pastor Wright), but by god, I will fight for their right to be as offensive and obnoxious as they want as they pave their own way to hell. I will not support them in any other way except for that.

For what is their sin? They have only behaved in a manner that accurately reflects their souls and the content of their character. AS HAVE THE MURDEROUS AND WHINING THUGS WHO KILL AND BEHEAD IN THE NAME OF SOME BLOOD-THIRSTY GOD.

The unacceptable and violent behavior that now seems to be sweeping Afghanistan (and who knows where it will stop??); and which is being done in the name of the so-called "religion of peace" truly demonstrates the fanatical, oppressive, and totalitarian soul of their religion and culture.

AND THEIR BEHAVIOR AND DEMANDS MUST NOT BE TOLERATED BY FREE MEN AND WOMEN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

Bob Dylan wrote in his album "World Gone Wrong", “Toleration of the unacceptable leads to the last round-up.”

Unless we think this is the last round-up for Freedom, then I suggest we first stop tolerating the violent and mindless behavior of Islam and place the blame for their mindless violence precisely where it should be placed.

And, second, I suggest we inform our clueless media that we won't tolerate their cowardly submission to evil.