Choices

Choices

I don’t know about the rest of America, or the world for that matter, but I am perfectly capable of making my own choices without undue influence from outside sources. I do not need some alleged do-gooder group to tell me what movie to see or what television show to watch. I am perfectly capable of doing so for myself. If I find a show offensive or boring, I do one simple thing: flip the channel. It is not up to some alleged watchdog group (with their own alleged agenda) to make that decision for me. I am not a child. My days of innocence and naiveté are long since gone; the rose colored glasses have been set aside.

What has started this latest rant, dear readers, some might (or might not) wonder? The Book of Daniel. No, this isn’t in reference to a mysteriously lost for centuries book of the Bible, but rather about a new show on NBC about a “Vicodin-popping priest who talks to Jesus” (Paley et al. 6) . The priest just happens to be named Daniel. Oh, and he has a gay son. What’s the big deal? Nothing, in the Book of Scott, but according to the alleged Book of the Mississippi-based American Family Association the show is offensive and they have mounted a campaign to have the show pulled from the air because of its portrayal of “drugs, homosexuality and other provocative themes within a Christian context” (Paley et al. 6) . So far, affiliates in Little Rock, AR and Terre Haute, IN have caved to the pressure (though they might deny it has anything to do with the alleged pressure from the AFA – actions do speak louder than words) from this group and chosen not to air the show. Isn’t it ironic that the subject matter of this soapbox entry – choice – is a double-edged sword? Well, at least I find irony in the situation and I can give the stations in those areas a slim benefit of the doubt and allow them their choice. My main issue is: who in the hell do the AFA think they are to determine what is right and proper for people to watch?

According to AFA spokesman Ed Vitagliana, the “travails of the Webster family aren’t ‘reflecting any Christians I know” (Paley et al. 6) I feel sorry for Mr. Vitagliana that he does not know any Christians with homosexual family members. I feel sorry for him that he allegedly cannot show acceptance toward reality and lives in a fantasy world where homosexuality does not exist. My mother is a Christian woman. My sisters are Christian women, and the majority of my friends are Christian. Last time I checked, they all loved me and could care less that I was a homosexual. So I have one question for the AFA as a whole: what would Jesus do?

I truly don’t know what would Jesus do. I would like to think he would allow allegedly intelligent individuals to make their own choices rather than apply undue pressure that – in my honest opinion – falls far from the Christian tree. The Christianity I was brought up in teaches about love and acceptance, not hate and ignorance. Choice is a matter of individuality. Choice is not the matter of a group of people deciding that they allegedly know what is best for everybody else in the world. If people do not want to watch a television show, or go to a movie, they have one simple option: free choice. They do not have to watch the show. I personally find the actions of the AFA morally offensive and just plain wrong. There is little I can do about it other than maybe beginning a slow and methodical study of the members of the AFA and just see how Christian they truly are after closer inspection. Hmmmmmmmmm!

S

All quotes from: Paley, Rebecca, and N. F. Mendoza. "Christian group tries to close The Book of Daniel." TVGuide January 16 2006: 6.