By now we have all heard about CBS' and NBC's rejection of the God is Still Speaking
advertisement produced by the United Church of Christ, on the grounds
that the ad is too "controversial". The ad in question shows gruff
"bouncers" working the line in front of a church, picking who can and
can't come in. Fade to second scene, which shows smiling children,
minorities, an elderly couple, and (gasp) two women standing next to
each other, one with her hand on the other's shoulder. No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here, the narrator intones.
Lots of people have had a lot to say about this, but I've got just one thing:
How pathetic is it that not being bigoted is now considered the "controversial" side of the debate?
Lest there be any ambiguity, CBS spelled it out clearly in their rejection notice:
Because this commercial touches on the
exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals
and organizations, 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.
Now, I want to point out something obvious here. Nowhere in the ad does it say thing one about gay marriage. Nothing. It just implies that if you are gay, or black, or Asian, or (possibly worst of all) elderly, you'll be welcome at this particular church, even if you haven't been at others. Still, even that's
enough for CBS to read-between-the-lines and consider it contrary to
the aims of the White House -- and that, in turn, is enough for CBS to
refuse to air the material at all.
Where the hell are we, these days, when we don't run ads on television because they might possibly conflict with the President's religious notions? This isn't about gay marriage, or constitutional amendments. This is about a Church that welcomes all comers. That's it. That's the "controversial" part of the ad. And apparently, CBS thinks that merely not being bigoted is enough to be "controversial" given the current climate at the White House.
The saddest part is, they're probably right.
Because this commercial touches on the
exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals
and organizations, and we all know that those other individuals and organizations are going to be up our asses for the next six months if we dare to not back them up on the whole excluding-gays-and-brown-people-is-patriotic thing, and because Michael Powell would blow a Jesus-shaped fuse if he sees two women smiling on our network, we've got to bail on this one -- you wacko "tolerance" folks are on your own.
But hey, if you've got any commercials that imply that buying a
particular soft drink or car will cause between two and six beautiful,
half-clad women to magically appear and start performing acts of
moderate sexual gratification upon you, give us a call.
Let's see now, did I get this right?...
Boner ads - OK
Contraceptive ads - OK
Naked woman in NFL locker room w/player - OK
Killing Iraqi civilians - OK
Madonna french-kissing other women - OK (because it was pre-Bush, I guess???)
Church ad with vague suggestion that gays won't be shunned - Too controversial
I think whoever made that decision at CBS is living in the dark ages.
And it's dark because his head is stuck where the sun don't shine...
Will CBS stop beer ads on sports coverage now, because W quit drinking?
Unbelievable... That about covers it!
