Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Freedom means what they say it means, Mr. Tebow [Jay]

Tim Tebow and his mother Pam in conjunction with private donors and Focus on the Family have legally purchased commercial air time during the Super Bowl to tell the story of how his mother was advised to abort him over medical concerns. Specifically, Pam had taken a high dose of antibiotics as part of treatment for amoebic dysentery and she was advised to terminate his life. The content of the ad has been reviewed and approved by the network as acceptable. The theme of the brief spot is “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.” And according to abortion supporters, supposedly obsessed with freedom and choice, you should not be allowed to see this spot.

Odd isn't it? Freedom, they cry! Liberty and equality for all and don't you attempt to force your view of morality on others. And yet it is that very same group that is now demanding that CBS not allow this perfectly legal and approved spot to air. Their desire for freedom is so specifically and narrowly defined as their own right to destroy inconvenient human life that the hypocrisy of this stance remains hidden from them. It is not freedom but fiat that they seek, and this fact is embarrassingly clear every time they seek to bully and quash the basic right to express contrary opinions.

See this excerpt for some of the clear thinking being exhibited from abortion supporters:

Terry O'Neill, the president of the National Organization for Women, said she had respect for the private choices made by women such as Pam Tebow but condemned the planned ad as "extraordinarily offensive and demeaning."

"That's not being respectful of other people's lives," O'Neill said. "It is offensive to hold one way out as being a superior way over everybody else's."


Wow. That is dumb on so many levels. My brain is on fire with a desire to take her to task for that self defeating idiotic last sentence and I must force myself to stay on the point of this post. It is “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning” for Pam Tebow to share the story of how she was advised to abort her son because she was unhealthy and when she refused he was born and ultimately became one the 3 or 4 greatest college football players in history. Simple dissent from the NOW organizational stance on abortion is “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.”

I love this gem of a statement:

"An ad that uses sports to divide rather than to unite has no place in the biggest national sports event of the year -- an event designed to bring Americans together," said Jemhu Greene, president of the New York-based Women's Media Center.

I know that feminist groups are usually very vocal about their love of sports and especially football. I can't tell you how encouraging it has been to see the abortion advocacy groups out in force at the Falcon's games here in Atlanta just cheering like crazy for the home team. And any fan that has ever experienced the joy of sitting in the midst of Philadelphia Eagle fans will certainly attest to the warm fuzzy ability of football to unite us in love and harmony. The Georgia/Georgia Tech game is a true demonstration every year of the uniting nature of football as it sows the seeds of peace throughout our beautiful state. YIKES!!

I applaud Tim Tebow. I have recently been talking and writing about the need for people like him to come forward and bring the issue of abortion into the popular culture through the simple expression of heartfelt beliefs. As a Georgia fan it is painful for me that God gave Tebow to Florida, but as a pro-life Christian I am thrilled that he is using the celebrity that accompanied his success to serve the weakest and most vulnerable among us. He is to be commended and supported.

He is also going to be educated. There are few groups so ugly and hateful as those that protect the right to destroy innocent life through abortion under the guise of freedom. Tim just tossed his hat into the ring as a high profile public figure that is willing to say in the most public venue imaginable that life is worth protecting. Tim said, "I know some people won't agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe.” Lesson number one, Mr. Tebow, they certainly will not.

Somehow after watching Tim run roughshod over SEC linebackers for four years, I don't think this little resistance will stop him. And thank God for that.


*As a post script, and entirely because I am in a bad mood this morning I want to take one last shot at something in this article:

A national columnist for CBSSports.com, Gregg Doyel, also objected to the CBS decision to show the ad, specifically because it would air on Super Sunday.

"If you're a sports fan, and I am, that's the holiest day of the year," he wrote. "It's not a day to discuss abortion. For it, against it, I don't care what you are. On Super Sunday, I don't care what I am. Feb. 7 is simply not the day to have that discussion."

Gregg, its a game. Grow up. There are more important things in the world and the destruction of innocent life is one of them. I hate it for you that brutality and suffering won't take the day off for you to immerse yourself in the high holy day of the truly vacuous but that is life. Sheesh. In the words of Bugs Bunny, “What a maroon.”


**In the original post I mistakenly said that Tim was at risk. I have corrected the error to accurately note that Pam was actually ill.

14 comments:

  1. I am so excited for this add to go on the air! Its awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great post, Jay. I've got a follow question for you and anyone else that has an opinion.

    I haven't been able to find video yet of the ad, but it sounds like it implies that life is valuable because Mr. Tebow could have been aborted, meaning we're falling on the instrumental side of value, not the intrinsic side. Do you think this is a good thing to focus on in a TV ad?

    Obviously it doesn't make as strong of a logical argument as focusing on intrinsic value, but I also understand the problems of fitting an airtight argument in a 30-second ad as well. This definitely has emotional appeal, so does that make it okay to focus on instrumental value just this once? Or would you encourage future pro-life ad creators to come up with a better message?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing the concern that some women have over this. I'm sure it's not the last we'll here from them. I added a link to this on my site.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mr.Doyel,

    Feb. 7th is the day I was born. I think it is a very appropriate day to discuss a topic like this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You make a good point but I think I disagree, Josh. I have not seen the ad yet either but, from what I have read about it, it seems to make the case that Tim Tebow's mother was at risk of dying if she carried him to term. She knew that but made the decision to continue her pregnancy precisely because she held the intrinsic value of her unborn son's life as being just as (more?) valuable than her own.

    The fact that Tim Tebow became what he did offers an emotional appeal, no doubt. But I do not think that is the core message behind the ad. I may be wrong, but that's how I take it. I guess we'll have to wait and see the thing before we can make a final judgment.

    All that said, the empty, self-refuting, hypocritical objections offered by the ad's opponents are amazing to behold. And I certainly don't think those who object to the ad are doing so because they are trying to exploit a flaw in the pro-life argument (between instrumental and intrinsic worth). They just know how effective the ad will be ... and they HATE it for that reason alone.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bob, I think you're right on target on the opponents of this ad.

    I didn't know as much about Mrs. Tebow's story, and that sounds like a wonderful story to tell through an ad like this.

    Did you have any contrary thoughts to the pro-life Superbowl ad that almost aired last year, by CatholicVote.org? That's one that I personally thought hit too hard on the potential of born human beings, albeit it was effective emotionally. I'm open to being wrong though, especially if the Great Bob Perry disagrees! Thoughts?

    (This is something we debated in what turned out to be one of our most popular podcast episodes we ever recorded, I think because for once, there was some disagreement among the members of the show.)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey Josh,
    I just went and watched the CatholicVote.org videos (all 3) and listened to your podcast discussion about the Obama ad. I completely agree with your position -- especially when the very title of the ad hammers the "potential" argument. That said though, I also agree that the ad was better than nothing AND (as you both agreed) that, given the chance, we could and should develop a better ad that makes the moral argument clearer.

    As I said earlier, I really don't know what the angle is on the Tebow ad this year but from what I've heard it sounds like it will do just that. Let's hope. And let's hope the thing gets played.

    Finally, I have to assume that "the great Bob Perry" reference was offered with your tongue FIRMLY planted in your cheek. Please ... :-)

    I am pretty new to this effort and have a LOT to learn but I thank God that there are thoughtful, articulate, young folks out there like you guys to make points like you did in the podcast episode you just referred me to. It is a treat to hear and I look forward to honing my own arguments by listening to you more in the future.

    Thanks ...

    ReplyDelete
  8. we can show ads with half naked women, comical beer drinking, and knowing that children are watching this game too! They paid for the time slot and they can say what they want according to government regulations. There is no law being broke here. If they want to say something fork over the money and do it. They need to stop whining and except the fact that they have a point of view. SO while everyone is waiting for the next half naked girl or frogs that says beer names, remember all is fair as long as everyone follows the rules. I can't wait to see the ad.

    ReplyDelete
  9. JW,

    CBS released a statement today that echoed your point. Their response to the complaints was that there was still commercial time open for purchase if those complaining wanted to submit an alternative view. Gotta love the honesty. You pay too, and we will show your commercial as well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. "As a Georgia fan it is painful for me that God gave Tebow to Florida" Well said sir. It must be difficult for you to so openly praise a Gator.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Excellent post!

    I think the reason that the "life with potential" argument derails the so-called "womens groups" is that they would have us assume that every aborted "fetus" would be an unwanted drain on society. The idea that this baby could grow up to be a real person with a real life story drives them crazy, because it proves the point that they are indeed killing a human being.

    I'm not saying that we ought not speak about the value of all human life, regardless of "quality". However, attaching the pro-life message to a famous person whom many can identify with is what is making these people angry enough to say the ridiculous things they are saying now. It's easy to justify "terminating an unwanted mass of cells". But, kill Mr. Tebow? How do you justify that?

    Thanks for the insight. Linking to this on Facebook.

    :)Tiana
    http://godmadehomegrown.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for "tackling" this issue. My blood was boiling too much for me to articulate a response to NOW's insane dribble. At least there's a dialogue on the topic.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think this situation is a great example of what you guys were discussing the "cool-cast". We need more celebrities to speak out in public, and show our culture that it is cool (or at least OK) to be Pro-Life. As you guys discussed, this will at least soften the response to our message, and give us the opportunity to engage and present the Truth!

    Thanks for all you do...I love the podcasts...

    ReplyDelete

All comments are moderated. We reject all comments containing obscenity. We reserve the right to reject any and all comments that are considered inappropriate or off-topic without explanation.