I’ve been a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC) my entire life. I was baptized into it, attended on and off while growing up, and then in college found a fabulous UCC congregation in Cambridge. The minister at First Church, Mary Luti, and Harvard’s Baptist minister, Peter J. Gomes, the Plummer professor of Christian morals, together inspired the faith that I hold today.
One of my favorite aspects of the UCC faith has always been its openness, tolerance, and dedication to peace. Thus, I was proud to see that the Church has launched its first ever television ad campaign, aimed at broadening its message and appeal.
The ad (view it here) itself is pretty jolting actually, it features a church set behind a red velvet rope, where two large bouncers brusquely turn away a variety of people-mostly gays and minorities-while allowing classic white families and straight couples through. The message tagline? “Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we.”
The voiceover then goes on to say, “like Jesus — the United Church of Christ seeks to welcome all people, regardless of ability, age, race, economic circumstance or sexual orientation.”
A well-done ad, all around, and one that certainly made me sit up and pay attention. The UCC’s buy is nationwide, so most Americans will see at some point over the next month. But, not, it appears on CBS or NBC. According to a UCC press release, both networks have refused to air the ad because the subject matter is “too controversial”:
“Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations,” reads an explanation from CBS, “and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks.”
I just don’t understand the logic here. Setting aside that the UCC spot does not explicitly mention homosexuality or gay marriage in any way, setting aside that I’ve seen many edgy Ad Council ads that preach “tolerance” that weren’t deemed “too controversial,” since when have we have been prohibited from debating issues that the White House is talking about? Have we really reached a level in America when large media companies are so gunshy that they’re unwilling to run anything that goes against President Bush’s moral values?
As Joshua Micah Marshall writes at Talking Points Memo, “CBS’s explanation seems to rest on the preposterous argument that because the ad addresses a major public debate that that makes it ‘unacceptable.’ Or is it just that discussing homosexuality is ‘unacceptable’?”
Either way, this is absurd. Over the course of the day today, I got more and more incensed because I’ve long respected CBS and NBC as news organizations. But for the corporations behind those networks, it appears that an ad that doesn’t mention gay marriage is evidently too hot to handle.
I tried to call CBS to complain this afternoon, but they put me into a comment mailbox where I could leave a message about Dan Rather’s decision to step down. Please call them yourself today and tell them you’re disappointed that they’re allowing the White House to dictate which issues we can discuss in this country: 212-975-4321.
So that issue got me a little thinking more broadly about the discussion (read = knee-jerk bigoted debate) taking place this week on gay marriage. The underlying issue is something I’ve long followed and cared deeply about every since a former girlfriend asked me, “Why should it matter who someone falls in love with?” As a Vermonter, I followed the civil unions debate in my home state, and cheered the brave legislators and governor who signed that bill into law and then campaigned for reelection across the state wearing a bulletproof vest because of death threats for the Green Mountain State’s quest for equality. This spring, I was proud of the gay marriage law in Massachusetts, where I went to college. And, I’ve been thinking more frequently about it now that one of my co-workers is a father with a very nice husband.
Because of all of that, Sunday night’s ABCNews story on misguided evangelical “Christians” had already gotten my dander up this week. In a year filled with disgusting bigotry, Florida’s Gary Cass might take the cake. He told ABC that President Bush had better deliver God now that the 12 percent of “Christians” who insist on not following Leviticus 19:18 have delivered for Bush:
Cass wants a U.S. Supreme Court that will outlaw abortion and gay marriage. “Do you want to take your children to a National League baseball game for instance and have homosexuals showing affection to one another? I don’t want my kids to see that,” he said.
Even for a bigot, Cass’ logic is especially nonsensical. How will outlawing gay marriage stop homosexuals from making out at baseball games? This is America, where until President Bush can make it otherwise, we live in a free society-which means that almost every day you run across something you don’t want to see.
That Anti-Leviticus crowd must be even more incensed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to intercede on the gay marriage issue in Massachusetts this week. As First Draft reports,
Merita Hopkins, a city attorney in Boston, had told justices in court papers that the people who filed the suit [against gay marriage] have not shown they suffered an injury and could not bring a challenge to the Supreme Court. “Deeply felt interest in the outcome of a case does not constitute an actual injury,” she said.
Let’s reiterate that for those among us who are stupid or have been deafened by the constant cry from the right that anything they think is icky should be outlawed: Deeply felt interest in the outcome of a case does not constitute an actual injury.
Aaron Sorkin said it best in The West Wing, referring to the NEA but making essentially the same point: I don’t know where you get the idea that taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for anything of which they disapprove. Lots of ’em don’t like tanks. Even more don’t like Congress.
You don’t want to see men kissing at National League baseball games? Guess what? You have to see that whether you want to or not. You don’t get to make laws against stuff because you don’t like it. You don’t get to deny those two guys who are making out during the Astros game legal protection. This is America. You pay your taxes, and you get to see all manner of shit you don’t want to see.
On the other hand, as the “Christian” Right said in the ABC article, “They believe that if their agenda is not implemented quickly
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