Hear the silence? An arsonist tried to burn down Wasilla Bible Church, the congregation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin late Friday evening. But not a word of concern – much less of outrage – has appeared thus far on the editorial pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Los Angeles Times concerning a despicable act, regardless of the motives of its perpetrator. All that is known at this point is that Alaska authorities view the fire as an act of arson, and that church officials decline to say if they have received any recent threats.
Now imagine that, instead of the arsonist’s target being Wasilla Bible Church, the match was lit against Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, the former congregation of President-elect Barack Obama. Does anybody doubt that the editorial pages of the nation’s top newspapers would be exploding with turgid, outraged demands for a full FBI investigation, along with reams of analysis based on the assumption that the motive of the arsonist was political and/or racial.
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Arson for any reason is a serious felony. When it is committed for political reasons, it is especially heinous no matter the identity of the intended victims. And it should be noted that there were a number of innocent people working on various holiday projects in Palin’s church when the arsonist started the conflagration. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed, despite the blaze that did an estimated $1 million in property damage. The silence is deafening.
