Someone once said, "There are only two things with no known limits: The universe and human stupidity." Double standards can also be added to that list.
The absolute evidence of this has been the apoplectic convulsions the left has gone through since Pastor Terry Jones announced his intention to burn a copy of the Quran to observe the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Obama, while grudgingly conceding the existence of the First Amendment, decried this. Hillary Clinton shrieked about it. Eric Holder described it with a term usually reserved only for his legal opinions: "moronic."
The only sane voice from the regime was that of Gen. David Petraeus, who said the action could endanger American troops in Afghanistan. Memo to the general: Afghanistan was not an oasis of peace before this, and the Islamists have never needed an excuse to try and kill Americans.
While Pastor Jones has now postponed the burning, at least one other Quran burning may take place in Springfield, Tenn.
The planned Quran burning has sent the double-standard generator into warp drive. Against this small Florida church were the obligatory accusations of "hate crime" or "hate speech." For those on the left who started foaming at the mouth over the First Amendment, I have to ask, where did this new-found evangelism for religious freedom come from?
A few years ago, an "artist," and the term is used very loosely, dropped a crucifix in a jar of urine and called it "art." Where was the left? They were applauding the artist for his "courage" and defending freedom of expression.
Around the same time, an artist produced a depiction of the Virgin Mary, covered in elephant dung. That outraged most normal Americans. Then Mayor Giuliani cut off the funding of the museum that displayed the art. What did the left do? Liberals promptly sued to have the funding reinstated.
The left frequently complains that conservative Christians want to keep women barefoot and pregnant, without rights. They want to oppress the rights of other religious minorities and kill homosexuals.
There is not a "Christian" country on the earth that does that. While liberals shriek about conservative Christians, they turn a blind eye to the Islamists, who do those exact things in numerous countries around the world.
The Islamic double standards would be funny if they were not so tragic. In Afghanistan, rioters protesting Pastor Terry Jones' plan to burn the Quran shouted "death to the Christians." They also burned and desecrated American flags. No word from the regime on that incident.
A few months ago, a video was broadcast on Afghan national TV. Shown in the video were Afghan Christian "converts." There were no calls for tolerance. Instead there were riots and calls for the Afghan constitution to be followed. For those not familiar with that particular document, it follows Shariah law and requires that anyone who leaves Islam for another religion be publically executed.
Again, no word from the regime on that incident, either.
Such incidents are not limited to Afghanistan. They are common through out the Islamic world. The sentiment of the Islamists is that we are free to desecrate and attack your religion and your beliefs. But ours must be accorded a special status, no matter how repugnant they are.
Judson Phillips is the founder of Tea Party Nation. He is organizing the National Tea Party Unity Convention in October in Las Vegas and will be appearing at WND's "Taking America Back National Conference" in Miami.