12 November 2004

Does Father Really Know Best?

Yesterday was Rememberence Day, a time for us to pay tribute to and show our respect for the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice, and gave their lives to preserve and protect one form or another of the freedom that we all hold so dear. Different communities celebrate Rememberence Day in different ways. I spent all of my formative years in Catholic schools which always marked the occasion by gathering the entire student body together and holding what amounted to a special mass.

The CBS television network had intended to mark the occasion with a special airing of the Steven Spielberg film Saving Private Ryan. Problem: Spielberg's contract with CBS call for them to show the film uncut and uncensored. Those two words tend to scare affiliate stations these days because the FCC is always looking for an excuse to slap stations on the wrist for unacceptable programming. Of course, the FCC wasn't willing to pass judgment in advance on whether or not stations could broadcast the movie without fear of reprisal. So a number of CBS affiliate stations decided to play the part of nice, safe, community conscious lap dogs and refrain from broadcasting the movie.

I find this disturbing on a number of levels.

First of all, I do not understand the need for a government body to tell people what does and does not constitute acceptable programming. I can understand the need to establish standards, but the actions of the FCC have gone well beyond simply establishing standards. The FCC is trying to regulate morality.

If you believe what the talking heads on the television are telling you then the American people want someone to tell them what is and isn't morally right. After all, that's how George W. won the election isn't it, by campaigning on moral issues? I mean, by electing George W. haven't the American people said that they want a Christian Conservative Father Knows Best government?

It seems to me that the talking heads missed the entire point of the election. Neither of the primary candidates were particularily viable choices for the Presidency which is why the popular vote was as close as it was. The fact that George W. won the election is proof positive that the American people considered him to be the lesser of two evils. But that's another story.

The FCC seems to base all of their decisions about what does and does not constitute acceptable programming on whether or not people complain about what they're seeing. That's why Nipplegate was such a huge scandal, because people were offended by the exposure of a simple part of human anatomy. Offense is the heart of political correctness. If it's offensive to someone then it must, by definition, be wrong. After all, we really don't want to offend anyone do we?

As if being offended is the worst that can happen to someone.

Personally, I think that political correctness is a crock. I think the notion of political correctness has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on reality. It's a convenient little cloak that people can wrap around themselves to protect them from having to make their own decisions and accept responsibility for the consequences of those decisions. I know this is right because it's politically correct. I know it's politically correct because the Movement told me that it's politically correct. Therefore I can do things this way and I don't ever have to worry about anything, so this is the way that I'm going to do it.

That's why the FCC wouldn't pass an advance judgment on whether or not the uncut and uncensored version of Saving Private Ryan constituted acceptable television broadcasting; they wanted to see if anyone was going to complain. If someone complains then that gives them more fuel for the Political Correctness movement and an excuse to impose fines and sanctions against the offending networks. They wanted to keep their options open.

Personally, I think that the whole thing is bullshit. It's a non issue, or at least it should be. Why? Because we all have choices. We can choose not to watch that particular program. This is why televisions have channel changers and off switches, to empower that kind of decision making. But no one wants to make their own decisions anymore, they want others to make the decisions for them. It's just easier that way, you know.

Government and government agencies have absolutely no place regulating morality. That's what the Church is for, for those who choose to subscribe to religious belief. That's why there's a separation between Church and State. The function of government is to provide a stable environment in which we can live and do business in relative ease. The function of the Church is to tell us how to believe and how to act. When the separation between Church and State starts to narrow, that's when bad things start to happen. That's when we as a society start becoming more insular and judgmental. That's when we start persecuting people. That's when our governments become nothing more than Church-run religious dictatorships. History proves to us time and again that this is a bad thing, and yet this is what people seem to want.

I don't understand it at all.

As a political conservative the last thing I want is religious involvement in government affairs. There's no place for it. Religion doesn't belong in that forum any more than politics belongs in a religious forum.

To me it's just proof positive of the decline of western civilization. The instant the gap between Church and State starts to narrow you can say goodbye to the good old days of the society that you once knew, because you'll never see them again. The religious autocracy will make sure of that. But really, you should thank them. I mean, that's what you wanted, isn't it?

Be careful what you wish for, Boys and Girls, and be especially careful what you vote for. You might just get it ...