Too much ink given to pastor

One person can make a difference.
Martin Luther King Jr. led a revolution that changed the way Black Americans were treated in the United States. He rallied the nation to make a change, and inspired presidents, senators, and other congressional leaders to pass legislation that would treat all people equally.
Mohandas Gandhi, both a political and spiritual leader, pioneered mass civil disobedience, or non-violence, to help India gain its independence. His non-violent civil disobedience has become the leading political action followed by countless others throughout the world.
Terry Jones, a Gainesville, Fla. pastor, gained his 15 minutes of fame last week by threatening to burn the Qur’an on the anniversary of 9/11. His threat inflamed thousands of Muslims around the world, prompting many to take to the streets to burn U.S. flags and denounce western democracies.
Sadly, it forced world leaders to respond to the threats of this small church pastor.
When someone like Terry Jones can gain world recognition overnight, and force leaders to respond to his threats, something is wrong. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Obama should not have had to go before the TV cameras to plead for this person to change his mind.
Similarly, as a media person, I couldn’t help but chuckle when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laughed when she wished the news media would not cover the actual bonfire.
Clinton realized the news cycle was acting like a dog with a bone—and was not going to give up the story until the deed had been done.
She, too, was trying to put out the flames that might endanger our soldiers in Afghanistan, as well as our civilian aid workers who are working with the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In hindsight, we, the news media, should not have given ink, sound, and face time to Pastor Jones. We fanned the flames of the fire; he only lit the match that started the fire.
He has made a difference.
Pastor Jones forced Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims across the western world to come together to condemn religious intolerance.
That universal condemnation was a victory in itself.