Daniel Broudy, OCU
In light of the recent public ‘torching’ of a Quran at the hands of the head vicar of a Florida church, the coining of a new term to define this bizarre display of irony, hyperbole, and hasty generalization may be necessary.
“Hyperony” may become a useful word to represent the rhetorical effects that shine a very bright light on fools who act with blatant ignorance in over-the-top public spectacles of hypocrisy. Case in point: Pastor Terry Jones has claimed to represent or speak for the ‘Prince of Peace’ and saw an opportunity to cynically hype an issue that divides even further the "blessed peacemakers" from the “terrorists.”
The hypocrisy in this case is unusual, as it emerges from an ignorance that seeks over-dramatized attention.
The hypocrisy in this case is unusual, as it emerges from an ignorance that seeks over-dramatized attention.
The hyperbolic generalization that Mr. Jones employs in his book-burning event is necessary for him to get the peaceful multitudes to believe that all Muslims are terrorists. From a safe distance, we can see the potential for otherwise solid reasoning used by Jones' followers turn to dust if we take time to observe Jones’ objectively and reflect on the irony that Dove World Outreach Center was at the center of the bonfire.
It is worth wondering, though, what really gets burned when this kind of “dove” reaches out to the world.
