Once again there is a television show controversy involving someone trying to live their faith tradition and a world that deems such an action as 'hating gays'.
And, just as I was during the whole Duck Dynasty thing, I am torn.
The Benham Brothers (https://tv.yahoo.com/news/hgtvs-benham-brothers-not-hate-homosexuals-182900794.html)speak out about HGTV canceling their television show.
Apparently, these men are Evangelical Christians and committed to living their lives by Biblical Principles. They do not accept Gay marriage, do not condone homosexual sexual relationships and so are now considered 'bigots'.
What I found interesting about their statement is their reference to people of other faiths. A red flag was raised and I picked up a blip on my radar.
My experience has been that people of a Fundamentalist Bible mentality are notoriously anti-Catholic. They put us about one or two slots above homosexuals as people who need to be 'saved' because we are headed straight to hell in a hand basket.
The fact that they are always misinformed about The Church or are, even worse, non-practicing Catholics who left Jesus in the Eucharist for some nonsensical reason ('I wasn't being spiritually fed' is always a good one) never matters. They are usually arrogant in their speech and sometimes nasty in their demeanor, all in the name of their interpretation of The Bible.
Now I cannot say anything in particular about these two men. For all I know they are not even Christians and just claiming to be (they might believe, for instance, that Jesus and Satan are brothers, that God the Father has parents somewhere and that men get their own planet when they die). I have never watched their show and would not know them if they bumped into me at the gas station. I have no experience with them at all.
What really bothers me about this kind of thing, however, is our eagerness as Americans to put up with it. Why we are allowing our society to become overrun by the tyranny of the few rather than allowing the system to work. If their show is stinky, it will fail. If you are a homosexual or a Catholic or some other type of human these two don't like, then vote with your remote and don't watch the show.
I think I am a pretty sensitive person. I know I fight hard against my own tendency to be thin-skinned. What I would not do is demand that Barbara Walters be taken off the air and vilified because of the nasty and stupid things she has said about the Catholic Church. Rather, I do not watch Barbara Walters. She is a bigot and an ignoramus. I do not waste my time with her. Those who think she is just wonderful? Have at it. None of my business but neither would I insist that you not get to watch her because she is an anti-Catholic Bigot.
As an American, I do not want people banned from television or the movies or the print media or the Internet simply because they hate me. Neither do I think it is the government's job, nor the network's works job, to constantly protect me from people who think all Catholics are stupid or all Niner fans are whiners or all Cal grads are left wing wackadoos. If you think that, fine. If I find out, I will stop taking anything you say seriously and if you are trying to make money by having a television show I will not watch you. Easy Peasy Chicken Squeasy.
What I will do is this: I will hold you in prayer. I will keep you before The Blessed Sacrament. I will wish for you your highest good - that being that you get to spend eternity in heaven with Our Lord. I will love you and honor you as a human being even though you are acting with utter disregard for your own inherent dignity.
And then I will turn the page, click on the next link or turn the channel.
I will do this because I am a grown up - and I can protect myself from those who hate me.
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