The reason we tend to believe book burning is wrong is because we believe the written word is sacred. This is no idolatrous idea. It is a foundational idea of the Judeo-Christian tradition. God spoke the world into existence, and likewise, having Created us in His Image, He gave us the power to speak our identity into existence.
All creation, including the creation of ourselves, begins with the internal language of thought, and proceeds outward from there.
We believe in the Freedom of Speech/Expression, and we believe that such expression is integral to the Freedom of Conscience. In other words, we believe that we manifest our beliefs about ourselves through the medium of words. Or, to put it more strongly, we create ourselves of words.
We believe the written word has the ability to transmit identity, knowledge, culture, love, beauty, family ties, etc. from one generation to another.
And, our progress, since the invention of the printing press, bears out our belief in the power of words.
Burning a book is a stunt. It does nothing to quell the bad idea. Bad ideas can be only be truly defeated with good ideas.
We will never be able to erase bad ideas from the world. Instead, as bad ideas are defeated, they mutate, take on a new combination of attributes, and re-assert themselves, only to be defeated again.
This is the battle of good and evil which is the crux of the world we live in. This is the game we play, and these are the rules of the game. Burning books is like dancing on the sidelines, and expecting that to effect the outcome of the game.
I choose to stay in the game, and fight to win.
18 comments:
"burning a book is a stunt"
Woa, I finally get a chance to disagree with you Pasto. Yes that might be true in many cases, but in this case "stunt" is a word that does not convey the proper seriousness.
The best way to look at this is to think about the conversation between V and Evie in which they discuss the reasons for and merits of blowing up a building.
The burning of this particular book is a symbol. Without people, symbols are meaningless. But with enough people, burning a book can change the world. Especially this book which essentially justifies the burning of all other books, buildings, property, and PEOPLE.
Burn it or cower in lowly submission, America.
Are V and Evie from the movie V for Vendetta?
I didn't see the movie. And, I don't know who the characters are to whom you refer.
I see your point. Books are a symbol. I will also say, burning a book is a form of Freedom of Speech, and it is protected.
My point is, as stated, that we won't win this way. The battle is a battle of ideas.
On the other hand, anything that gets Muslims pissed off is good for our side, in the long run.
pastorius im personally queezy about the idea of a book burning.
its to close to the grainy black and white films of brown shirts doing simmilar things circa 39.
that said it is thier free speech right and the government weasils saying its unamerican never held out the opinion that its unamerican when smelly commie hippies burned the flag, or serano made his "art" called the piss christ.
the best you got out of lib. pols was it was offensive but still the hieght of american ideals to be able to do it.
now suddenly its unamerican?
lastly in the end I think if anything good comes of it, it will be to further unmask islam as the dangerous violent ideology that it is.
I think my point here is that it is "unAmerican", because it is American to believe that the written word is sacred.
That being said, I agree with everything you wrote.
Anonymous -- although we think the Koran burning a bad idea I don't think Pasto or Epa or Rumcrook or Spencer or I (et. al.) are exactly cowering in lowly submission.
I understand your point but, in this case, I don't agree with it.
Pasto, it is becoming more and more obvious to me that God, who may or may not exist, has figured out that burning bushes, or sitting on camel herders, or even drenching people with shitloads of rain are not effective ways to get the point accross.
So instead, subtle or even overt messages are being cleverly inserted into "movies" which are then directly inserted into people's minds. I don't know if directors and screenwriters are completely aware of the process, but they are nevertheless a part of it. The devil, if that creature exists, has apparently also figured this out and is inserting his own messages to to try to undermine God's.
The messages are like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle scattered throughout various films/movies for us to gather up and put together. "God" or "someone benevolent" apparently thinks we humans are smart enough to put them all together. I'm not so sure.
"V is for Vendetta" is one such movie which contains several of the described pieces. The Matrix trilogy, Lord of the Rings, The Incredibles, Rein Over Me, Traitor - these movies all contain various other pieces of a larger "Meta" picture or grand theme.
Perhaps it's all incidental, but it is nevertheless very real.
Anonymous,
I really should have expanded on my "I know what you mean" comment.
I am a Christian, but I'm a Christian who believes in Jung's Collective Unconscious.
I think what you are describing is the workings of the collective Unconscious.
We are in a time of major upheaval, and as the goings get more contentious, good and evil manifests itself in many forms throughout culture.
As we can see, the Left is mirroring many Islamic ideas these days, even outright defending ideas they once would have outright condemned.
I believe that is another manifestation of what you are describing.
Thanks for your replies. As far as the written word being sacred, I think it very much depends on what exactly that written word says and what it happens to be written on.
Metal or a concrete wall? Graffiti to be scrubbed. On newsprint? Fire kindling. Bound into a book? Well, there's the yellow pages. On glossy paper? Damn irritating flyers. You get my drift?
I think "theists" of all stripes may just be afraid that if "holy" books start getting torched, their own special one might somehow find its way onto the heap. But they need not fear that because it all depends on what is written therein, and what it's written on.
(And besides, God is using movies now ;-)
You are wrong Pasto !
It took two "ANOLA GAYs" to bring a bad idea down !
Nazism was not defeated with Strudel Cakes and Marzipan !...
Alex.
Anonymous,
You almost won me over with this:
"Metal or a concrete wall? Graffiti to be scrubbed. On newsprint? Fire kindling. Bound into a book? Well, there's the yellow pages. On glossy paper? Damn irritating flyers."
Then, you wrote this:
"...if "holy" books start getting torched, their own special one might somehow find its way onto the heap."
Yes, that's true.
But, it reminds me how much I believe in what I wrote.
Think about it, what's the difference between us and the lowliest cultures on Earth?
Once again, I don't oppose the burning of the Krayon as being against Human Rights.
IT IS NOT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS TO BURN THE KRAYON.
Go ahead, burn away, if that's what will make you happy. I won't even dislike you for it. And, as I said, burning a book expresses an idea. It is a form of self-expression itself.
And, therefore, I wouldn't stop you. I wouldn't set fire to your Krayon-burning festival.
Alexander,
Guns and atom bombs started with the written word.
uns and atom bombs started with the written word.
extrapolating on that and the power of the written word,
the written word is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. thats pretty powerful.
islam is by some estimates responsible for putting to death over 200 million people becuase of the written word in the koran.
becuase of the written word of karl marx communism murdered easily 100 million people.
the atom bomb, the gun, are just tools
the written word is the directions, the blueprint justification for actions the real reason.
the tool doesnt jump up off the work bench and start murdering.
its an inanimate obect, a tool that needs purpose and action
the word gives it life.
and that is why it is so important, so useful, so important so frightening, so dangerous....
People are not debating the right of the pastor to burn the Koran, they are debating the sensitivity and offensiveness of the issue.
It just helps expose the double-standard of Islam, because they don't care about the sensitivity and offensiveness of building a mosque on Ground Zero.
ASt the end of the day, I hope he takes the high road and doesn't do it, because the effect has been achieved, we have seen the hipocrisy of the Islamic world.
They would blame America as a whole for the actions of a few people in Florida, and kill soldiers as payback for something someone else did. And then they complain when we blame Islam for 9/11.
Double-standards, double-speak, you're being double-crossed.
.
Very well said Mr. Dave Thompson !
I couldn't have done a better Job !
Pasto ! Read it again ! This is for you !
If the pastor purchased the Qura'an legally with his own money and has the recite to prove it, he can do with it what ever he wants!
READ THE THING CALLED " THE CONSTITUTION" !
If I hear from them the words - 'offensive' - sensitivity - Right etc. one more time, I'll poke their eyes out and piss in the empty holes !
BASTA !!!
.
Alexander,
Read what I wrote, including the comments.
US gvt burned Bibles-(no out-rage by Christians) I posted this at my site in 2009
and re-posted it today w/ further take--
Alms for Jihad (burned) removed from circulation..by Cambridge Press
Funding Evil almost removed from circulation (burned) --
I could go on-I did at my site--
just a little History helps put things into perspective...
Carol-CS
It's good to see you, Claudia.
The actual burning of the koran matters not a lick to me. Whatever floats your boat. I won't burn a koran simply because I would have to purchase one, which would result in aiding and abetting Islam through it's purchase. Screw that. I use the USC online version.
However, what does infuriate me, is the abject cowardice of our pope, religious leaders, elected leaders and the yellow-bellied ignorami having never read a single word of the koran, who insist on 'tolerance','dignity', 'honor' and 'respect' for a belief system which consistently for 1400 years reciprocates none.
Attempting to stifle this uniquely American example of free expression twists the first amendment into the rope with which sharia will strangle such liberties.
Cultural suicide never enjoyed such fertile ground as this insane degree of 'tolerance'.
Gather recent reports of global outrage within Muslim communitites which were alerted to the planned Koran burning event. Note the scale of outrage and numbers of individuals marching in unison against such 'blasphemy'.
Where were similar scaled marches for the 'blasphemy' of Islamic terror committed at Beslan? 9/11? 7/7? 7/11? Mumbai? USS Cole? 1979 Iranian hostage crisis?
The absense of such similar scaled outrage and protests against Islamic terror should remove all doubt of Islam's true meaning.
The absolute dearth of similar scaled denouncements provides the ultimate teaching moment, demonstrating the actual value system of Islam.
Why anyone choses to believe what they are told rather than what the visible eye can witness is evidence of a culture willingly committing suicide.
Burn the korans. Then use the free online editions to explain why. And for survivals sake, use the images of the various global Muslim protests and teach your children to recognize the one sided values of this intolerant and barbaric belief system.
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