We seem to be dead set on keeping the message of a pastor in a small church in Florida alive and pertinent at a time in which we also seem to get more and more of our national dialogue from knee-jerk reactions instead of rational, thoughtful reflection. In fact, there is almost nothing thoughtful about the dialogue surrounding the burning of the Qur’an in Florida, which should be offensive to all of us as Americans first and then by our faith practice. But we are often assailed with the opinions of fools in the media circus that is required to pump “news” at us all day. There’s no time for thoughtful reflection, we have to get the ticker notice up – “breaking news” that is so important it can be relayed to you in fewer characters than a tweet! Mark Twain is often quoted as saying “It is better to stay silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

I would argue that the main reason we have a controversy over this pastor is because he gets airtime. Why not ignore him? There’s no reason to do this except for the publicity. Terry Jones is, as Senator Rice said recently, the “Fred Phelps” of Islamophobia. And the best way to contend with Phelps and his gang of hate-filled loonies is to ignore them. Who cares what they think? I listen to them no more than I would listen to a Neo-Nazi’s take on race relations. Let it be a non-issue and it becomes one. Let the media go into a complete blackout on that little complex in Gainesville on Saturday and show instead the numerous gatherings of interfaith groups celebrating our diversity and standing arm-in-arm with our Muslim brothers and sisters defending their right to worship freely. That’s the thing that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda don’t want to see…believe me, they are fine with Terry Jones.

At what point does the general public’s feeling – which I think is overwhelmingly opposed to the burning of the Qur’an – outweigh the lunatic fringe? When does the message get spread across the country of the many ways that Americans reach out to one another, regardless of race, gender, class, religion or sexuality? That is my beef with the media. But, my friends, we get what we deserve. We have stood by as corporate America has slowly bought up the media and now the same forces that bring you “Wife Swap” and “Cougar Town” now bring you the nightly news. Should we expect anything other than the latest shock-story force-fed to us every night? It truly is the blind leading the blind.

We need not be driven by those forces. Don’t watch the news. Get to know your neighbors. Visit the houses of worship in your town and see for yourself what is going on. Learn on your own terms without relying on the opinion-factory that supposedly passes for journalism these days. Learn to examine information before consuming it…for, as Jesus told us, it isn’t what goes into the mouth that defiles us, it is what comes out of it.” We can see consume all kinds of information, but if that turns us into hate-filled, angry people – centered on lies and slander that serve to only pollute us and each other then we have ourselves become defiled.

This is a dangerous time. A time in which we are being asked to stand up for what we really believe in and if we don’t, there are many people willing to take the wheel and drive us to places we don’t want to go. “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph”, Edmund Burke once said, “ is for good people to do nothing.”

And what I propose that we do is to start to find, create, write and tell the stories of hope, perseverance, cooperation and goodwill that are surrounding us right now. The sparks of a whole new world are arcing in our peripheral vision if we will but look. Hold onto those embers and tend to them, that they might grow into an all-consuming fire that will clear out the underbrush of our neglect and casual treatment of one another and make possible the new growth of unity. I’m not sure that kind of story will bring the satellite trucks in for coverage on the 24 hour “newsertainment” channels, but then again…who cares?

It was perhaps the strangest moment I have ever seen.  U.S. Military generals appeared on television to ask the pastor of a tiny Florida church not to burn the Koran.  I suddenly felt like I was living in the twilight zone, or had become a character in a Kafka parable.  Here was a moment that symbolized the completely upside down world in which we now live:  the military begging the church not to do something violent.

Once upon a time, it was the church that begged the military not to kill people and break things.  For 200 years in the early church, no follower of Jesus was allowed to wear the uniform of any army.  Now the army has to worry about a church whose actions endangers its troops!

It’s true that the response to Rev. Terry Jones has been swift and gratifying, as clergy across the country, including yours truly and Chris Moore (who helped organize the OKC response), held vigils and press conferences denouncing his plan to burn the holy book of Islam.  But it also gave Rev. Jones his 15 seconds of fame, and reminded us all that no matter how many times we say, “This is not America,” the truth is that in many places this is exactly what we are becoming.  Islamophobia has gone mainstream, and should there be another terrorist attack, it will erupt across this country.

Rev. Jones has not read the Koran, by his  own admission, but all he needs to know is that it isn’t the Bible.  What he seems not to know is that the act he plans is the anti-gospel, the epitome of fear and hatred of the stranger, and the ultimate insult to the spirit of the Lord he claims to follow.

Economic hard times always brings the demagogues out of the closet, and the media always feeds on the dark side of human nature.  But what cannot be excused is the complete silence on the part of the Republican party, where not a single national figure is willing to publicly condemn this outrageous act.  Why?  Because it plays to the anti-Obama (who is really a secret Muslim, don’t you know?) fever in the land.  It throws red meat to the “divide and conquer” crowd.  It nourishes the forces of “Christian” triumphalism.

This is a very dangerous moment in American history.  Fear is ascendant and love is confused with weakness.  If you want to make as difference, read the Koran, and invite a Muslim family to dinner after Ramadan.  Then burn only candles, and try praying five times a day.

As for putting the world right side up again, the military needs the church to challenge what it is doing, not the other way around.