MEDIA & ETHICS | FEBRUARY 15, 2019

Speaking Out Against “Mainstream” Bigotry

If you think Leah Remini’s unapologetically bigoted television show is an anomaly and the mainstream media is generally unbiased when it comes to matters of religion and faith, think again.

Protestors with a sign — Photo by Eric Crama/Shutterstock.com

I find it frightening that anti-religious bigots in media no longer even think it’s necessary to hide their prejudice. Not only are they now open about it, they flaunt it. Leah Remini has expanded her hatefest to include an ongoing assault on the Jehovah’s Witnesses. One of the “ladies” on the TV talk show The View, a program produced under the banner of ABC news, recently had no qualms about equating Christian prayer to “mental illness.” There is no media outlet more “mainstream” than the New York Times and look what showed up on Twitter a short while ago:

Dan Levin
✔ @globaldan

I’m a New York Times reporter writing about #exposechristianschools. Are you in your 20s or younger who went to a Christian school? I’d like to hear about your experience and its impact on your life.

Does Mr. Levin have no shame, all but shouting from the rooftops his intention to write a bigoted hit piece targeting Christian schools? I mean, come on! How degraded has our media become?

What if all people of goodwill, whether Muslim, Christian, Mormon, Scientologist or whatever, upon hearing any anti-faith propaganda being passed on, got mad as hell and spoke up about it?

Such attacks on freedom of religion also impact freedom of speech. In our culture, we are bombarded with such vast quantities of information that it’s easier for people to blindly accept whatever comes their way if it’s from a “mainstream” source. And so, as the media assaults on religion continue, young people of faith in particular may choose to avoid speaking up because they do not wish to be targeted for ridicule by the misinformed. But not speaking up is the wrong answer! Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard famously said: “When in doubt, communicate.”

I believe truer words were never spoken.

I’m reminded of a great line in the film Network, written by Paddy Chayefsky and spoken by actor Peter Finch, playing a network news anchor: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

What if all people of goodwill, whether Muslim, Christian, Mormon, Scientologist or whatever, upon hearing any antifaith propaganda being passed on, got mad as hell and spoke up about it? Curiously, when someone does speak up to protest antireligious propaganda being repeated in everyday company, the offending party commonly back-peddles and apologizes. Even if they persist in their antisocial behavior, and you did speak up, at least you won’t go away thinking less of yourself for being a wimp. Your personal integrity will remain intact. That’s far more important than having the approval of the ignorant and bigoted of this world.

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AUTHOR

Jim Kalergis

Jim is a Los Angeles based screenwriter specializing in edit/rewrite work. In previous careers, Jim was a disk jockey, developed educational materials for industry, and managed a number of broadcast TV studio operations. His free time activities include ham radio and contributing to web-based discussion groups on a wide range of subjects.

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