Fox's Mike Huckabee opened up his show this Saturday by coming very close to reading straight off a post on his Facebook page, where he has a huge sad that all of those "militant homosexuals" and their enablers out there are stopping his buddy from Duck Dynasty, Phil Robertson, and good Christians like himself from hating on teh gays.
As Zack Ford over at Think Progress pointed out this week, the racist and homophobic comments made by Robertson and their consequences have nothing to do with free speech. That didn't stop old HuckaJesus from doing his best to try to scare the hell out of his viewers that the gay gestapo is coming for them and their right to express their views, no matter how ignorant.
HUCKABEE: Do you remember when America was a free country. Religious liberty, so foundational to our nation's origin, that faith was embedded in the very first amendment in our Bill of Rights. The government is forbidden to prefer or prohibit an expression of religion. Religion is free to express, but government has never been free to infringe.
In recent days, a small, but vocal and militant group of same-sex marriage advocates have co-opted religious liberty to force industry and government to go beyond tolerating homosexuality, but to approve it. Now I'm told to shut up advocating for traditional marriage, but those who force acceptance, approval and activism of same-sex marriage allow no deviation from their views. Wedding caterers and wedding photographers are being forced, by government, to serve same-sex weddings, even if it violates the conscience and religious convictions of the provider.
It's not just government. A&E network found a successful formula to save it financially from its beginnings of "Arts and Entertainment." Reality shows have turned it into a cash cow, but none of its shows has ever rocketed it to the stratosphere of green and gold like its most popular show ever, "Duck Dynasty."
Elites have never understood its popularity in "fly over" country, but for those of us who live in the part of America, Duck Dynasty wasn't about the beards or the ducks, but the strongly knit sense of family that the Robertson clan embodied. Their Christian faith is apparently a little too real for reality TV.
They live life happy, happy, happy. They're not straight-laced snobs or Puritans, but they are people who laugh, they play, and they pray. They reflect a family who loves each other. And they also reflect a view of marriage that's been the standard for all of human history and the norm for Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
A&E tossed Phil Robertson off TV because he believed what he said, and he said what he believed. A&E is insulting and snobbing the millions of Americans who hold the same view, albeit perhaps expressed in less graphic terms.
I doubt that very members of the gay rights group even watch Duck Dynasty. Gay rights groups used to lobby for tolerance. Now they're lobbying for intolerance.
Reality TV has given us such high brow viewing as Jersey Shore, Temptation Island and Cheaters. It's okay for shows to glorify adultery, binge drinking, teen sex and serial promiscuity, but if someone on a reality show should actually reflect the reality of his Christian faith, then God better help him, because the network won't.
So just who do the suits at A&E think those millions were who watch Duck Dynasty? Muslims aren't criticized, ostracized or banned from the public square, and their views are far more harsh and intolerant of homosexuality.
Most Christians I know (including me) are respectful and tolerant of those who are homosexual and engage in friendship with, employment with, social interaction with people who are openly gay. I can accept anyone, but I shouldn't be forced to embrace a view of sex that is at odds with my faith.
I've got friends who accept me and love me, but they think I'm a religious nut for believing the Bible and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So are the militant homosexuals so insecure that they're incapable of tolerating anyone who disagrees with them? Can we maybe get back to free speech and religious liberty? Or will we one day be told by the government what we can and can't say or can't believe. It starts in the marketplace and it ends when it gets enforced by the state. And folks, we're getting close. We're getting close.
