television censorship

emeraldkity4
Wed, 01 Dec 2004 19:23:39 +0000

From a student at my daughters school



My church, the United Church of Christ, recently has begun buying spots on television for a 30 second commercial meant to welcome people into the UCC. The following statements are from a UCC press release. I have screened them because, as with most beauraucracy, there’s a lot of crap to cut through.

The debut 30-second commercial features two muscle-bound “bouncers” standing guard outside a symbolic, picturesque church and selecting which persons are permitted to attend Sunday services. Written text interrupts the scene, announcing, “Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we.” A narrator then proclaims the United Church of Christ’s commitment to Jesus’ extravagant welcome: “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”

If I may interject, the scene with the narrator shows a modest group of people, in which there are closeups of people of different races and sexual orientations. Because of this, The CBS and NBC television networks are refusing to run a 30-second television ad from the United Church of Christ because [it] … has been deemed “too controversial.”

Also in the release: “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.”

If I get time and I think about it, which I should, I’m going to write NBC and CBS and ask them to reconsider. Furthermore, I will not be watching either network.

If you continue to watch these networks, know what they support and keep that in mind.

If you would like to see the ad, it is on www.stillspeaking.com