Burn the Quran?

The flap this week concerning the pastor of a tiny Florida church's intention to burn copies of the Quran is headline news right now. Muslims express outrage, the President has weighed in on the issue, and CNN is covering the event 24/7.

What we're missing is a teaching opportunity here. The glory of democracy is our defense of free speech rights. Even the President of the United States is not empowered to stop this yahoo from expressing himself in the way he - nobody else - thinks is appropriate. Lets explain that to people who are furious about the Quran burning.

Book burning generally should horrify and outrage us all. It's one of the things that puts us on a slippery slope. Once it gets started, who knows where it will end? But if we defend free speech, including free symbolic speech, then we are obligated to support the reverend's right to burn Qurans while at the same time deploring the act itself.

As usual, there is a lesson here for Americans as well as foreigners. I can't help but wonder if Americans who support the Quran burning are the same people who would muzzle free expression in our own country. Anyone who supports and defends the minister's right to burn Qurans would logically also have to support the freedom to, say, burn the American flag.

One last thought: what is the proper way to dispose of a Quran that is worn out? If, as with the American flag, burning is the appropriate method of disposal, there is at least an irony involved in all of this.