According to Britain's Daily Mail, Florida Pastor Terry Jones, who burned a copy of the Koran after a six-hour mock trial, "has been directly responsible for a wave of violence that began last night (April 2) and has left 30 people dead and more than 150 injured. The defiant stance has led General Petraeus, the head of NATO forces in Afghanistan, to join international condemnation of pastor Jones." Let me begin by stipulating that what Mr. Jones did was both stupid and provocative. At the same time, the reaction to his stunt is quite fascinating on a number of levels, most of which center around the reality that Western culture is besieged by weak thinkers, apologists and appeasers. What Mr. Jones did was personally self-destructive. The reaction to it may be culturally suicidal.
