THERE ARE MANY REASONS TO be annoyed, flabbergasted, enraged, amused, resigned or cynically justified by the actions of the idiot in Gainesville who wants to burn the Quran. Here is mine:

(First, though: I use the term “idiot” strictly as a measure of accuracy, not of my own admitted scorn and disbelief. Funk & Wagnall tell me “idiot” is derived from the Greek word “idios,” which means “one’s own.” Use in a technical philosophical sentence, a la Philip K. Dick: “Two worlds there are: the idios kosmos, or private world; and the koinos kosmos, or shared world.”)

One who believes that his actions affect no one else is living in his own little world. One who further believes that he is exempt from those actions’ consequences is living even littler. Most people grow out of that world around the time they quit wearing diapers. I don’t know what his excuse his — nor do I care, except as cautionary tale — but I am grateful that he provides a polar opposite to something most of the rest of us aspire to be. For providing a spectacular “bad example” — one that’s truly exemplary for its inbred viciousness, fear, and willful stupidity — I thank you.

Now please. Go away.