Barcepundit supplies a helpful reminder of the way in which Americans responded to a deliberate and hateful insult to the largest religion in our country — when Sinead O'Connor sang a song harshly critical of the Catholic Church and finished by tearing up a picture of John Paul the Great, using the word "evil" in her concluding remarks. A video link to the performance is supplied in case your memory is hazy or lacking.

This was a deliberate provocation, televised by a major network. Barcepundit asks:

How many Irish embassies were burnt in Italy, or Spain? Did Sinnead O'Connor have to go in hiding, or with 24/7 protection by bodyguards? Was there any Catholic boycott of Jameson or Guinness?

Expressions of contempt towards all kinds of religion are commonplace in the world. The Taliban's dynamiting of ancient Buddhist scultures in Afghanistan is one of the most serious expressions of contempt for a religion imaginable.

Only one religion today is capable of worldwide riots, death threats, embassy burnings, and rage. That religion is not like the others with which it shares the world today. This simple fact is profound, and the implications are enormous.

Thomas Lifson  2 07 06