Crazy Is The New Normal?

Warning: Prepare to probably be offended by... me!

I’m not into discussing politics but allow me to jump into this worldwide discussion concerning a minister in Gainesville, Fla., who has created an international uproar by vowing to burn the Koran on Sept. 11. This is under the theory that the best way to honor Americans who died at the hands of religious extremists is to do something that is both religious and extreme.

I am not going to mention his name, since he’s already been rewarded with way too many TV interviews for a person whose seminal career achievement has been building a thriving congregation of about 30 people.

The Koran-burning has been equated, in some circles, with the fabled ground zero mosque. This is under the theory that both are constitutionally protected bad ideas. In fact, they’re very different. Muslims building a community center in their neighborhood on one hand and the deliberate attempt to insult a religion that is dear to about 1.5 billion souls around the globe on the other.

This week, a minister, with the title of “Internet evangelist” announced plans to build a “9/11 Christian center at ground zero” in response to “the lies of Islam.” This guy, who is from Tampa, drew an estimated crowd of 60 people. Does that make him more popular than the minister from Gainesville who has about 30 folks in his church? Plus, is there something in the water in Florida? What’s up with that?

When this sort of thing happens, it is important to remember that about 5 percent of our population is and always will be totally crazy. I don’t mean mentally ill. According to the National Institute for Mental Health, 26 percent of American adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year. (Yes, I’m probably included in that stat). So, basically, that’s just normal life. I mean crazy in the sense of “Thinks it is a good plan to joke with the flight attendant about seeing a bomb in the restroom.”

I pastored in Kansas for a while and we ran across another bonehead minister whose church picketed funerals of servicemen who were killed in the war. He also became nationally famous. My point is this:

There is nothing you can do about the crazy 5 percent except ask the police to keep an eye on them during large public events, where they sometimes appear carrying large guns just to make a political point about the Second Amendment. And, in situations like a Koran-burning, make it clear that the rest of us disagree. Crazy is the new normal, or maybe it’s just the old normal.

So....what’s your thoughts on the Koran-burning promotion?