| So General Petraeus said that a Florida church's plan to burn Qurans on September 11 "could endanger troops and endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan."
A few of the less stable righties are dang furious someone dares criticize their God-given right - nay, necessity - to burn heretical books in the public square. 'Cause they're out to kill us all, and burning their favorite book will show them!
Whatever. What's more interesting to me is John Hinderaker's reaction:
...I personally am not in favor of burning Korans. My advice to the Florida church would be, don't do it.
Still, is it not highly problematic when a senior military officer warns American citizens against exercising their undoubted First Amendment rights?...
Of course, the First Amendment only prohibits the establishment of a religion by government. Which is where we came in--there is a fundamental difference between my telling Terry Jones, senior minister at the Dove World Outreach Center, that a mass Koran-burning is a bad idea, and General Petraeus saying the same thing. Especially when Petraeus, probably the most respected person in the federal government, warns that the likely effect is to endanger our troops. In many contexts, taking actions that endanger the troops would be regarded as giving aid and comfort to the enemy, a concept that Petraeus came uncomfortably close to endorsing.
Um...? Where were these *sshats for the last nine years, when their political, military, and blogger friends were saying the same thing about anti-war liberals? Only it turned out we were right about Iraq, and these people are wrong.
Hinderaker brings up the comparison between rightie's reaction to Park51 and their reaction to Petraeus' statements - but while he dodges the hypocrisy, the Mahablog tackles it head-on:
...in the case of Park51, the arguments against the "rightness" of it are not just subjective; most of them are unadulterated bunk. There is no rational reason to not build an Islamic Center on Park Place. The building was functioning as a mosque, a place for Islamic prayer services, for several months before the controvery kicked off, and it didn't bother anyone until a few hotheads decided to raise a stink about it.
But in the case of the Quran burning, there could be real consequences. U.S. troops could die. The effort in Afghanistan, into which this nation has poured considerable blood and treasure, could be set back.
Whatever. This isn't meant to be a post about the efficacy of the Afghanistan mission. IMHO, it's a black hole. And the Florida church is free to say what it wants - although they're not free from the criticism that should flow naturally from their decision to burn Qurans, because Petraeus is probably right when he says rightie wingnuts are putting troops at risk with their manly chest thumping.
That's the thing here. You hear a lot from conservatives about how their speech is prohibited because lefties often criticize it for being racist, homophobic, or just plain stupid. But what they're really angry is that their racism, homophobia, and stupidity actually has consequences. |
