Oh. Brother. Here we go again. This is so ridiculous and so many parties with whom to be disgusted I’m not really sure where to start. Let’s just say, I’m pretty sure this is NOT what our forefathers had in mind when they were laying out their vision for this country.
There’s a new show on TLC called All American Muslim, a docu-reality series that profiles the lives of five, Muslim-American families, living in Dearborn Michigan, home to the largest mosque in the country. I have not seen it but it sounds like something I’d be interested in watching.
Not so for the Florida Family Association, apparently, which whipped its followers into a frenzy by stating:
“The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish.”
Well from the sounds of this, it looks like one of the traditional values we Americans hold dear is to be distrustful of those who look differently and to browbeat others into believing the same thing. A number of advertisers have bailed on the show, including hardware giant, Lowe’s, though it says it was not solely due to pressure from the FFA.
Let me play devils advocate for a second.“The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish.” You don’t say! That’s because the majority of Muslims ARE ordinary folks with the same hopes and dreams for their families that many of us have.
But now that you mention it, I do have the same feeling when I watch Brady Bunch reruns, a sneaking suspicion that I’m not getting the full story. Why aren’t they showing Timothy McVeigh sitting at the table next to Cindy and Jan? And you know Alice has to be exhausted washing sheets and hoods for that whole family to wear to the next big Klan rally.
I know it’s ridiculous. And that’s my point. There are bad apples in every race, religion, sex and age group. But it is patently unfair to paint everyone with the same brush. Period.
That’s my take, what’s yours? Have you seen All American Muslim? Do you think Lowe’s and others were wrong to pull advertising from the show? And what of The Florida Family Association, do you think they have a point or are they just succeeding in making Americans look hateful and intolerant? Lemme hear ya!
