Quran Burning: Thoughts About 9-11 & The First Amendment:

Most people would think that the ninth anniversary of a day in which our nation was brutally attacked would be in a day in which our nations' citizens would unite as one and continue to remember those that were killed on September 11, 2001. However, Reverend Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida, had a different idea of how he wanted to celebrate this anniversary. Jones planned to involve himself in a Quran-burning protest that would take place on September 11. The Quran is the holy book of the Muslim people. The news of this plan has startled many people living in this nation, one of which is the President of the United States, Barack Obama. Obama stated, "If he's listening, I hope he understands that what he's proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans, that this country has been built on the notion of freedom and religious tolerance" (Associated Press). Although the First Amendment does give this nation's citizens the freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I do not believe that Jones' actions are appropriate nor morally correct. Yes, it is true that Jones does have the "freedom" to act in such ways that he pleases, but his potential action of burning another religion's holy book is going against the laws upheld by our Constitution. Besides for defying what is included in our consitution, Jones' planned actions would, in my opinion, put this country at great risk for future attacks. Obama later stated, "And as a very practical matter, I just wanted him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform" (Associated Press). Jones believes that the Quran "is evil because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims" (Associated Press). Burning this holy book will only create problems, rather than solve them. If Jones does follow through with his plan, I am very afraid as to what the after-effect will be. I am extremely worried that if this protest takes place, the Muslims will take action and that could mean potentially killing American citizens. As written on one English-language banner held up by the protesters, "If Quran is burned, it would be beginning of destruction of American." I believe that America needs to do whatever possible to make sure that Jones does not follow through with his violent plan.