Tim Wildmon
AFA president
April 1994 – Is there someone you agree with on every issue, every single point, all the time? I’ll answer that one for you – no. Is there an organization you agree with on every issue all the time? Again, allow me. The answer is no. The truth is, we make company with people – and support organizations – with whom we agree 95 to 99 percent of the time or sometimes less.
The reason I bring this up is that we here at American Family Association – and many other fine organizations – are trying to call America back to some sort of moral sanity and when you engage yourself in this battle you sometimes have to call for tough “we mean business” actions that are not going to please everyone all the time, even some of your supporters.
For example, last month, we sent out a letter documenting the unabashed and continuous support for the homosexual lifestyle and political agenda by the Public Broadcasting Service. PBS is of course funded by you and me with our tax dollars, but is seemingly accountable to no one in terms of the content of the programming. In this case, a program called Tales of the City, which was more homosexual pornography, was shown.
This is the same scenario that took place with the National Endowment for the Arts a couple of years ago. Taxpayers feed Congress, Congress feeds NEA, NEA feeds “artist”, “artist” creates vile, blasphemous or pornographic art and screams censorship when someone—or some group like AFA—dares to say taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for this stuff. In this case we’ve said enough is enough and if no one is going to place standards of decency on PBS then shut the whole thing down.
Well, here’s the rub with some who generally support us: Barney, Sesame Street, and Mister Rogers Neighborhood. You see these shows – and fine, wholesome shows they are – are on PBS therefore we shouldn’t ask for PBS to be shut down.
What to do?
Another example is something that happened last month. We printed a list of leading sponsors of TV violence during our latest monitoring period which was last fall. (We use 2,000 volunteers from around the country twice a year for one month in the spring and again in the fall.) We define an act of violence as: “An attempt to do bodily harm to a person or bodily harm actually done. Cartoon and comedic violence were not included.” The monitoring period last fall included a movie titled Dances With Wolves. It had a very interesting story line, but also had many bloody and violent scenes, especially for network television. Being a major sponsor on this movie caused a large auto manufacturer to score high on violence. They didn’t understand how this could be.
Again, what to do? Do we make exceptions in monitoring sex, violence and profanity on network television because the movie won academy awards or because a television show like NYPD Blue is critically acclaimed? Or do we just count violence where violence is found, sex where sex is found and profanity where profanity is found? (It is rare when a movie with an otherwise good story line like Dances With Wolves would create this question. Most of the time this question is much more clear. This same company, by the way, also had some ads on two Chuck Norris shows that were predictably violent.)
My point is, our work is not an exact science, but it as close as humanly possible.
I remember a couple of years ago a lady called me and let me have it – she said she was a Christian and I don’t doubt it – because her husband worked for a company of which we were advocating a boycott. The particular company was consistently a leader in sponsoring sex, violence and profanity on television and its brass was probably the most stubborn we’ve ever dealt with.
In fact, AFA always goes beyond the call of duty in trying to be fair. We always request to talk and reason things out before we call for a boycott of a company. But when a company says with their actions or words, “We don’t care, we look for the most viewers for the least money,” there has to be some accountability brought to bear or you can forget ever changing television.
“Please, pretty please” and “I really wish you wouldn’t” only go so far when it comes to the television networks, corporate sponsors, PBS, the NEA or anything else. If we’ve learned anything in 17 years of work, when the rubber hits the road you’d better be willing – and able – to play hardball.
Once we’ve done everything to make our stand on principle and conviction and exhausted all good faith and moral persuasion to bring about change, an organization like AFA better deliver most of the time or we will quickly lose credibility and be rendered ineffective. Who then will be there to lead the battles against sex, violence and profanity on television or on PBS?
Still, it’s hard to see what’s best for the general public when I – the individual – am touched. Just like the lady who called and said that if she lost PBS she would lose “Barney” for the kids and therefore AFA should back off. (By the way, “Barney” is worth millions and doesn’t need PBS anyway.) O.K., ma’am, you tell me what to do.
If the choice is between being an organization who’s character is by nature and by necessity one of confrontation and who from time to time will offend, and being an organization who does little or nothing so as not to offend anyone, then put me in the offending camp or leave me out of camp altogether.
Sermon complete.
Someone say the benediction so we can go get some lunch. 
