I'm standing up for a church? Now I've seen everything...

CBS and NBC have refused to air an advertisement entitled God is Still Speaking, produced by the United Church of Christ. The ad begins outside of a church, where bouncers are stopping a certain "bad element" from entering: first two men holding hands, then a young black girl, a barely legal Hispanic guy, and a midget (I think). The nice white heterosexual couple and their presumably slutty daughters get passed just fine, though. Then the words appear: "Jesus didn't turned people away. Neither do we." Fade to second scene, which shows people of all sorts smiling on the steps of the church. Smiling children, minorities, an elderly couple, and (gasp) two women standing next to each other, one with her hand on the other's shoulder. No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here, the narrator tells us.

This is the sort of innocuous commercial I probably would not even have noticed (when was the last time I watched anything on CBS, anyway?). But apparently the message of inclusion is too controversial for the networks. CBS spelled out why they have refused to air this ad in their rejection notice:

Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations, 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.

I think CBS needs to do some serious therapy work. Obviously they are obsessed and terrified with gay marriage. Because nowhere in the ad does it say one thing about gay marriage. It just implies that if you are gay, or black, or Asian, or (possibly worst of all) elderly, you'll be welcome at this particular church, even if you haven't been at others. Still, even that's enough for CBS to read-between-the-lines and consider it contrary to the aims of the White House--and that, in turn, is enough for CBS to refuse to air the ad at all.

How pathetic is it that not being bigoted is now considered the "controversial" side of the debate? I really don't care if ads agree with this president's religious "values" or not. That shouldn't be a deciding factor for anyone. This isn't about gay marriage, or constitutional amendments. This is about a Church that welcomes all comers. That's the "controversial" part of the ad. And apparently, CBS thinks that merely not being bigoted is too controversial a stance to take given the current climate at the White House.