A Look Back: The Florida Koran-Burning Controversy

I dredge this story back up to make a point...  Remember when this one was all that seemed to fill the airwaves?

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-11/us/new.york.jones_1_quran-florida-pastor-jones?_s=PM:US

Florida pastor calls off Quran burning

 

September 11, 2010 | By the CNN Wire Staff

The pastor of a Florida church says his congregation has decided to call off the burning of the Quran that was to be held Saturday -- the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States by the al Qaeda terror network.

"We will definitely not burn the Quran," the Rev. Terry Jones told NBC's "Today" on Saturday "Not today, not ever." The burning had been planned for 6 p.m.

Jones arrived in New York late Friday night and was working to set up a meeting with the imam in charge of the Islamic center planned near ground zero. The planned meeting, Jones had said, helped persuade him to halt the burning.

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Earlier Friday, Jones gave mixed messages about whether he intends to carry out his plans, which have sparked international controversy and protests in the Muslim world. U.S. military leaders said the event would imperil the lives of troops abroad.

President Obama said Friday that the idea that "we would burn the sacred texts of someone else's religion is contrary to what this country stands for."

He said he hopes Jones "prays on it" and refrains from doing it. The government has to send a "very clear message" that burning the Quran would endanger U.S. troops and serve as a major recruiting tool for al Qaeda, Obama added.

So, just to review: did the event in question actually even happen?  No.  Did it matter?  Not in the least.

It's easier to comment on something like this in hindsight.  This was an example of "pack journalism" at its very finest.  The crazy thing about this story is that so many of us seemed to realize how utterly worthless this story was as a news item at the time.  After all, Jones was just some crazy guy who ran a church of 50 people.  Crazy people do crazy things all the time.

And yet, the story was on the 24-hour cable channels, over the airwaves, and set upon the printed page non-stop.  Why?  Because the advancement in media has begotten a massive increase in the amount of space that has to be filled by something.

It was never clear to me just who was driving the train in this case.  But the promise of conflict was obviously too good to pass up for today's mass media.  It's isn't like nothing important was happening in the world.  I mean, the House of Representatives was in session at the time, for example.  I couldn't tell you a single thing that they passed...

...but I can tell you where Dove Outreach Center is on a map.

It seems that we are forever doomed to argue over the inconsequential for all eternity.  One can only wonder what worthless event it will be on tomorrow, or the day after that.