Pete and Repeat

And now, ABC joins the ranks of those afraid to air UCC's ad.

The church quoted CBS as saying that the ad was rejected "because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples ... and the fact that the executive branch has recently proposed a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast."

However, CBS has accepted a second UCC commercial for airing. One can only wonder at what they required to be excluded before being willing to play it. No effeminate looking men? Only burly lumberjacks in flannel shirts? As for the women - absolutely no women 'in comfortable shoes', as Robin Williams once said in Good Morning Vietnam.

Kudos do go, by the way, to ABC Family, BET Discovery, Fox, Hallmark, TBS and TNT for all airing the ad. On a related note: Where's Bravo? I'm surprised not to see them here.

Where is all this going, you wonder? Look at the bigger picture. A GOP Legislature proposes to ban gay literature in public libraries. Not just gay romances, but anything with a gay protagonist in it, or that suggests homosexuality might be okay. The Color Purple, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Brideshead Revisted would have to go. Rep. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, when asked, said Tennessee William's play 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' couldn't be played in university theatre groups.

"I guess we dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them." - Rep. Gerald Allen replied when asked what to do with the banned books.

Chilling words, but even more chilling when looked at amidst the bigger landscape of proposed Constitutional Amendments specifically excluding homosexuals, and large television networks refusing to air television ads that preach for acceptance.

This shift towards hate is unacceptable, and we've seen where this road goes. Discrimination, I was taught as a child, was a thing of the past; a legacy that great leaders had the courage to stand up against. America is a better place now, and celebrates its' melting pot hodgepodge heritage. It's what makes America stronger, more innovative and dynamic. It is what gives America its edge.

We're losing our edge now. America is on the decline. This great society we live in is beginning to mirror the very Muslim fundamentalists our soldiers are right now fighting against.

There are those who would say America's decline is because of our loose morals and/or our corrupt citizens. To this I say, "You argue of morals, yet I see no evidence of scruples. You preach Christianity, yet vilify those who do not share your views. Your actions speak louder than words."

Remember that history will see the witch hunts of today as it has all others in times past, and those with the courage to stand up for what is right will be remembered. It may not be easy, but then, being right never is.

Oh, and one final cheery note. Go take a gander at what those wild and crazy abstinence-only programs have been teaching our children for three years now:

Some Abstinence Programs Mislead Teens, Report Says

Wake up America. We're better than this. We have to be.