Ann Bailey
Evidently I was living under a rock until this past summer when some family members sat me down and insisted I view an episode of “Duck Dynasty.” Honestly, I didn’t know what to make of it. Having grown up in VERY rural eastern Idaho, I couldn’t decide if this show was dedicated to mocking members of my family who live a similar lifestyle or if the show truly had millions of people watching, enjoying and even celebrating people like my very own decidedly “redneck, but loveable” relatives. I struggled to believe the show (including its decidedly religious overtones) could be such a hit and wondered how long the novelty would last.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, too, you know that on Wednesday the Duck Dynasty world was rocked by news that family patriarch, Phil Robertson, had been put on “hiatus from filming indefinitely” by cable network A&E because of his remarks regarding homosexual behavior and Biblical teachings. The internet and airwaves are full of stories (here, here, here, and here).
After my initial anger at A&E subsidized, I realized that the cable network did the pro-family, conservative cause a big favor. Here’s why:
- It shines a huge spotlight on the hypocrisy of the “tolerant” and “politically-correct” crowd. I don’t need to tell you that it isn’t at all about “tolerance.” It’s about forcing people to conform to a particular way of thinking. Be prepared to lose your employment or at the very least wear a “bigot” label, if you speak the truth about same-sex behavior.
- Phil Robertson being chastised and, for all intents and purposes, fired for his beliefs/positions regarding the preferential status of heterosexual behavior, places him as a prime example of what can (and will) happen when non-discrimination statutes are put on the books in cities, states, or at the federal level (see ENDA).
- A&E will live with the results of such a disastrous move on their part. As one commentator pointed out “A&E just committed Suicide.”
- Phil Robertson now becomes a rallying point for all citizens to say “I’ve had enough of being pushed around and brow-beat by the gay lobby and their loud-mouthed friends.”
I hope every citizen feels compelled to now stand up for man/woman marriage, to speak truth without fear, and to not allow others and their intolerant “tolerance dogma” to force us into a corner of silence regarding same-sex behavior and lifestyle. Ducking and running for cover will not do. If we don’t stand up now, we better be prepared to lose that right completely.
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