James Ford is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and also an ordained Soto Zen priest, and his take on religion is not exactly the same as, say, Franklin Graham’s. I think some of you might enjoy reading his most recent sermon — “Jesus Was a Carpenter: A Sermon on Religion and Politics.”

A hate-mongering “pastor” from Florida named Terry Jones is making himself famous by promoting his “Burn a Quran Day.” The best part of this story is that Jones is head of something called the Dove World Outreach Center. Some things snark themselves. But a little more snark doesn’t hurt —

News of the pastor’s hate festival has reached Afghanistan and sparked protests. Gen. David Petraeus said that the stunt puts the lives of U.S. troops in danger and damages the “war effort.

Whereupon some rightie bloggers began whining that they have a right to burn Qurans. For example,

For the record, I oppose book burnings on general principle. There are much more effective ways to fight Islamization and creepin’ sharia in the West.

But it brings to mind a question my pal Greg over at Rhymes With Right raised a while ago: If you can burn a flag , why can’t you burn a Qu’ran?

The answer of course is that you can.

It’s revealing that the Left is absolutely bat bonkers about the Qu’ran barbecue but has always been totally supportive of burning the American flag as a matter of Constitutionally mandated free speech if nothing else.

Of course the pastor has a right to burn Qurans. I haven’t heard of anyone, including any part of the justice system, trying to stop him. Further, General Petraeus was not ordering people to not burn Qurans. He was saying, if you do this, you are putting the lives of troops in danger and hurting the war effort. It was a statement of fact.

It’s also a fact that if Jones goes through with the stunt, and American troops die as a result, and the work to de-radicalize Afghanistan is set back, Jones will suffer no consequences. He will remain free to throw more public temper tantrums that hurt his country as often as he likes. Because this is America, and people are free to express themselves.

For the past several days, one argument being made about the Park51 development in lower Manhattan is that “just because you have a right to do something doesn’t make it right.” And of course, that’s true. You have a right to smear yourself with molasses and sit on an anthill, for example, but that doesn’t make it a good idea.

However, in the case of Park51, the arguments against the “rightness” of it are not just subjective; most of them are unadulterated bunk. There is no rational reason to not build an Islamic Center on Park Place. The building was functioning as a mosque, a place for Islamic prayer services, for several months before the controvery kicked off, and it didn’t bother anyone until a few hotheads decided to raise a stink about it.

But in the case of the Quran burning, there could be real consequences. U.S. troops could die. The effort in Afghanistan, into which this nation has poured considerable blood and treasure, could be set back.

We could argue, of course, whether anything tangible could ever be accomplished in Afghanistan through any sort of military action. I am skeptical. I personally think there was a window of opportunity that closed at least five years ago. General Petraeus, however, seems to think he can accomplish something, but the Quran burning will be setting him back.

One would think those people who have supported U.S. military action against Islamic radicals in the Middle East would think, wow, maybe the Quran burning is a really bad idea, and request of Pastor Jones that he cancel his plans. Just because someone has a right to do something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.

And I think if I had a son or daughter in Afghanistan right now, I’d be mightly pissed off at Pastor Jones.

I also think that people who have basked in the romance of living in a “time of war” — while they were safe at home, of course — would be eager to step in and do their bit. In past wars, the government often requested that citizens restrict their speech for the war effort. You know, make some sacrifices. I guess sacrifices aren’t fun.

So when John the Power Tool asks, “Still, is it not highly problematic when a senior military officer warns American citizens against exercising their undoubted First Amendment rights?” the answer is, I think it’s problematic that the Tool thinks this is problematic. Again, no one is stopping Jones from burning Qurans. But if we’re really taking this “time of war” mystique seriously, then civilians have a part to play.

I hate to think how the Tool would react if he were subjected to World War II-style rationing. The “free market” types would riot in the streets, or else at the sight of a ration book they’d melt into puddles like the Wicked Witch of the West.

Whatever happened to “let’s roll?”

Instead of thoughtfully considering what the General requested, wngnut responses range from So what? They’re killing the troops, anyway; what’s a few more? to The general is a good dhimmi willing to trash the constitution for the privilege of kissing muslim butts.

But the Constitution is not trashed here, because the government will not stop Terry Jones. Neither Petraeus nor anyone else is calling for the government to step in and arrest Jones so that he can’t hold his Q’ran burning. They’re just requesting of him to not do it for the good of his country.

So, dear wingnuts, no one is depriving Terry Jones of his right to free expression, which in this case will be showing the world that he’s a hypocritical buffoon. The general is just pointing out that this could get troops killed and set back the war effort. That’s part of his job.

But this is why I titled the post “emotional puberty and wingnuttia.” They’re responding like, well, juveniles. They wanna do what they wanna do, and if you say you think it’s a bad idea, you’re just being mean.