Joe Lieberman: “Mr. President, last night, as we know, a fire broke out in the First Missionary Baptist Church in Enid, OK, which brings…”

“Mr. President, last night, as we know, a fire broke out in the First Missionary Baptist Church in Enid, OK, which brings now to more than 30 the number of African-American churches that have been burned by arsonists over the past 18 months, and, of course, the pace seems to be quickening in the last couple of weeks. This outrage recalls memories of similar attacks on religious people and religious institutions throughout the centuries. Sadly, they continue in the other places in our world today. Christians, Jews, Moslems, and others have all suffered for their faith in many horrible ways. The details of the acts of persecution vary widely, but the seeds of hatred that underlie the terror are sadly and tragically quite the same. The sheer blasphemy--I use the word intentionally--the blasphemy of these church burnings must chill our souls. We do not know if the acts of arson are the result of some horrible conspiracy. But in some measure, it would be a little bit easier to grasp the enormity of this evil if it were the result of the work of a single group of criminals because we can crush such a small band of terrorists, which is what they are.”