The idiot veto-- the case of Terry Jones

New media world gives too much power to the idiot veto

LEONARD PITTS JR.; Published: 09/12/10

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Maybe you know the term “terrorist veto.” It refers to the ability of a single obscure malcontent, powerless but for his willingness to sacrifice lives, to make himself heard at the highest level of geopolitics and force his way upon the international stage.

As this case makes oppressively clear, the Internet and the 24-hour news cycle have evolved an analog to the terrorist veto. Call it the idiot veto – the ability of a single obscure malcontent, powerless but for his willingness to do some outrageous thing, to make himself heard at the highest level of geopolitics and force his way upon the international stage.

Two weeks ago, no one had ever heard of Jones, podunk pastor of a tiny church – 50 members – in Gainesville, Fla. Twenty years ago, his proclaimed intention to burn the Quran “might” have gotten him a few minutes on the rump end of the local TV newscast.

But that was before mass media exploded and every one of us became a news purveyor unto him- or herself. Jones’ bigoted idiocy – and yes, he has a constitutional right to be a bigoted idiot – has won him worldwide attention out of all proportion to any intrinsic significance of the man himself. As one Muslim leader noted Thursday night, Jones has more cameras following him than church members.

If the stakes were not so high, if his threatened action did not portend international riots, increase the danger to American troops, and jeopardize the nation’s global standing, the whole thing would be downright laughable. And the funniest part would be that we did this to ourselves.

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We have yet to figure a way to embrace the promise of new media but avoid the pitfalls. Until we do, we will always be vulnerable to the ability of that lunatic to hold the whole world hostage.

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