Quran Burning

Tom Friedman, in Hot, Flat, and Crowded, says that one of America's greatest problems is that the public has a tendency to act as "dumb as we wanna be." I tend to agree with this idea, as many Americans are ignorant and lack knowledge about  foreigners. Friedman reports in the opening of his book that America is closing up it's borders mainly because of this ignorance which causes America to be portrayed negatively throughout the world. This stereotype of Americans does accurately describe the recent story of Terry Jones, a pastor in a small town in Florida. Terry Jones plans to hold a ceremony on 9-11 to burn the Muslim Qoran, the equivalent of the Bible for Christians. This next excerpt is about how the ceremony would be a strong statement saying America is not tolerant of Muslims and other faiths. The Associated Press reads:

Pakistan's ambassador to the United States is calling on conservative radio and television host Glenn Beck to denounce the planned burning of the Quran to show that Americans are tolerant of other faiths.
"I think it would help if Mr. Glenn Beck came out against it, and said that people of faith do not burn the books of people of other faith," Husain Haqqani told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Beck earlier this week wrote in an Internet blog posting that burning the Quran is like burning the flag or the Bible — something people can do in the United States, but shouldn't.
"Our good Muslim friends and neighbors will be saddened," he wrote. "It makes the battle that they face inside their own communities even harder."

Terry Jones is a prime example of "dumb as we wanna be" as said by Thomas Friedman. It is wise to have some sort of influential voice (Glenn Beck) raise awareness against this pastor so that to prevent any further tainting of America's perceptions. I completely agree that Koran burning is a heinous action against Muslims. This 9-11 ceremony would not only portray America as intolerant or evil, but also put Americans in more danger by Muslim extremists... and rightfully so.