Several stories have hit the intertubz about certain religious groups that don't like the new, fully, awesome show, Cosmos. Not that anyone who loves science, couldn't see that coming, in this era of antintellectualism, but still. I feel it needs to be addressed. The latest complaint is that creationists are demanding "equal time". Now I don't know about you, but when I read that, it made coffee squirt out my nose. Let us explore the notion of "equal time" in this context. They want to be featured on the show exclusively because you know--Freedumb!
In order for Cosmos to reach parity with all of the Christian shows that air 24 hours a day on the idiot box, it would have to be shown on (and I am guessing here) at least 7 channels that run the show and related content 24 hours a day.
That's not counting all the local church shows that run on local channels on Sunday until about 1 or 2 pm, wherein then we switch to college sports.
That is also not counting all the Christmas specials that run, and I am talking about live Christimas services filmed in the churches, (not singers doing Christmas songs).
One of the major reasons I dumped cable is because they charged us, for a large cluster of local religious channels in the basic packages. I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay to see John Haggee or Pat Robertson or any other creature that seeks to hurt Women, GLBT community, religious minorities or Atheists. They charged us for a cluster of local religious channels, that I can pick up with my handy dandy antenna FREE!
And further more--Equal Time for whom again? Except for seeing 8 Crazy Nights on cable, I don't see Jewish specials or channels, I don't see Muslims, or Buddhists or Pagans. I see occasionally, stuff on meditation and yoga, but never in a format that seeks to convert people to any particular religion. I only see instructions for stress management, weight loss and flexibility.
I can however occasionally see Christians dressed as ancient Hebrews, or see them utilizing props from modern Judaism.
And what do I see on these shows?
Fear
Hate
Fear
and more
Fear.
Fear God
Fear those different other people
Fear Women
Fear the End of the World
And statements along the line of "It's your Christian Duty to fight this that or the other) which doesn't include poverty or civil rights violations of women or homosexuals.
Sometimes I see hope too, to be fair:
Hope for the end of the world.
They also like to tell people who to vote for.
So far, Neil DeGrasse Tyson hasn't done any of that.
Trinity Broadcast Network otherwise known as TBN, runs 5 Separate Broadcast Networks, Juce TV, Enlace, The Church Channel, Smile of a Child, These channels feature collection of shows for Protestant, Catholic and Messianic Jewish Christians. Now are you telling me that TBN doesn't have the capacity to produce and air the Christian counterpart to Cosmos? Or any other show for that matter? All those super-rich, name it and claim it Christians can't invest in their own show and put it on their own channels?
Their views could even be put on a radio show, like this one perhaps? Rejoice Broadcast Network This broadcast station carries Answers in Genesis, which is the source of the quotes from the Huffpo Story--It seems to me that the opposing view to Cosmos is already being broadcast all over the internet and radio. Cosmos doesn't have it's own radio show.
Appearing on "The Janet Mefferd Show" on Thursday, Danny Faulkner of Answers In Genesis voiced his complaints about "Cosmos" and how the 13-episode series has described scientific theories, such as evolution, but has failed to shed light on dissenting creationist viewpoints.Huffpo
Official Rejoice Broadcast Network link
Look to the middle left--and see Answers in Genesis show at 9:30 AM with Ken Ham.
Here's the program list, also showing Answers in Genesis.
I have witnessed attempts by these people to defund the Public Broadcast Stations, and National Public Radio, while failing to mention that they have just the perfect broadcast home for us, after said broadcast-ethnic cleansing has taken place.
There are 29 Religious Channels listed on the US Over-the-Air-Television-Channel-List at Wikipedia
Daystar, Enlace, TBN, Smile of a Child, Juce, The Church Channel, Sonlife Broadcasting Network, 3 ABN, 3 ABN Latino, Almavision, Dare to Dream Network, Peace TV, 3 ABN Proclaim!, Cornerstone Television, TCT, The Walk TV, CTN, God TV, WHT, Tela Avida, Abundante, Family Net, EWTN, Hope Channel, The Word Network, La Familia Cosmovision, TLN, Tvida Vision, The Worship Network, GLC. Wikipedia
So out of all these channels (including Spanish Language Channels) these people are claiming that they cannot get equal air time not on just local antenna channels, but also on Cable and Satellite Television packages that carry their tripe and charge people for it, whether we want to watch this or not?
Looking At Cox Communications, basic programing, the CW shows Jack Van Impe at 9 am today-Sunday March 23 2014. Jack Van Impe believes that UFOs over the earth are actually Angels and Demons fighting over the earth and our souls.
Telemundo has church faith in this slot as well as a Catholic show for the following hour.
KSBI is a local Oklahoma religious channel, so it often carries religious programming and some infomercials.
Ion television also has a church show on this slot.
KTBO is another religious channel--it's all religion all the time.
FamilyNet--all religion all the time.
Same with EWTN and Inspire
UP seems to have made television series out of the Left Behind books with shows like Left Behind--The Tribulation Force!
So here are just 8 potential slots (right now) for the counter- to Cosmos. But no--lets put one religionist on the show and pretend like their opinions matter more than any other "true believer". Lets' pretend that their opinion is relevant to the subject itself. It just seems silly to me, to see a religious movement that has such extensive broadcast reach, bemoaning the fact that it isn't "getting equal time" with a show they don't agree with.
Maybe what they are really complaining about, isn't equal coverage-because they sure have a lot of channels (in Spanish and English) maybe what they are really complaining about is the lack of equal "views". They can't force us to watch their shows, so their only solution is to deprive us of alternatives to their programming.
So go to whatever church you want, believe what you want, watch the programming of your choice. Just don't expect the rest of us to follow suit. I was not put on this earth to make you happy or to validate your beliefs. I have my own views, my own beliefs, and my own tastes and I like Cosmos as Science, not religion, thank you very much.
The only way for Creationists to squelch Evolution as a Science would be not only to kill all scientific programming on the air, and all websites and blogs, but also burn every book and silence every scientist and teacher and supporter.
Feel free to let us know if that last bit is what you really want.
And FYI this family loves Neil DeGrasse Tyson, we have watched him on PBS for years now, and we especially loved the Pluto Files. We watched it on the television and then checked it out from the local library. We sit down as a family and watch Cosmos together. Sometimes we have friends with their children over to watch as well.