I just watched the National Prayer Breakfast at the National Cathedral in Washington. I was excited to hear what Sharon Watkins, the Disciples' General Minister and President would preach to the new administration. Sharon is a good preacher, and it is a point of great pride for some of us that Obama chose her to preach because he once witnessed her authentic conciliatory nature. I thought she would have something good to say about unity, coming together despite our differences.
I tuned in to MSNBC, where I usually get my news, to watch the broadcast. To my dismay Chris Matthews talked over the broadcast, talking about the impossibility of religious people practicing inclusiveness because all religions declare that they have the only way, and then launching into a discussion of the Senate hearing on the Secretary of Treasury, while the ticker-tape messages at the bottom of the screen screamed our financial woes. Then to top it all off, MSNBC panned away from the service BEFORE the sermon, forcing me to look elsewhere for a live telecast.
I found it on FOX news. I never get my news from FOX -- I prefer a different spin than I get there. But you see, FOX panders to the audience they expect, their loyal audience, a more conservative audience. Unfortunately the popular belief is that all people of Christian faith fall into that audience. That is not true. Nor is it true that there are no Christians who practice inclusivity.
MSNBC, you missed an important opportunity today.
Thank you, FOX, for televising the entire service without interruption or commentary. Where can I find someone in the news media who understands that there really are people of faith who are progressive in their theology and social views and still care deeply about the integrity of worship and aren't embarrassed at encountering sacred mystery? Why does the media still try to force us into one of two camps: the religious right or the secular? Why is the media so far behind? FOX, you need to work at catching up as well. Look to the left a little and see what you might discover.
Better yet, what if we lost the spin altogether? What if the media tried straight reporting -- factual, unbiased? Is that possible?
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Does the text of Rev. Watkins' speech exist somewhere? If it does, it would be instructive to publish it side-by-side with Matthews' mistaken rhetoric. And perhaps send him a copy.
That's not a bad idea.
You note & ask, "Better yet, what if we lost the spin altogether? What if the media tried straight reporting -- factual, unbiased? Is that possible?"
I think it is possible to at least make this a guiding principle. I think NPR does a really good job of it. Likewise, I think CNN's news coverage comes close to achieving it.
MSNBC is on its way to being a liberal FoxNews. Like AirAmerica, the thing I like about this is the ability to point to them and say, "No, that's what liberal media is." I will be more entertained by Olberman or Maddow than Hannity or O'Reily, but no more informed.
Great observations from each of you. Thanks. I'm guessing, Matt, that I can get a transcript of Watkins' sermon. And you're right, Jim, that the spin Olberman & Maddow give the news is waaaaaaay left (though I do love Rachel & she's at least having fun most of the time).
Still, I'm frustrated that nobody can create another category for me/us. And that means that the poor wanderers like Matthews will never know that there's another way. He brought it up again tonight on the first 15 min. of Hardball, which was all I could take.
I've been reading Huston Smith's World Religions, it's nice bus reading because it is so easily segmented. It occurs to me, that acceptance of other religions for other people is not new. Hinduism has it, and surely the tribal gods era had it. I wonder if it is something more monotheist need to learn.
Fascinating observation, Jim. I think you're onto something. Although during the ancient age of tribal gods during which the Israelites emerged with an assertion of the One True God who had chosen them, the mode of the day was argument over which god was the most powerful. That competition produced some great mythology that still stands strong in the world of literature.
So I'm not sure polytheism would keep us from dissing each other's faith. There may be something else about Hinduism that is more at the root of this. An inherant part of Hindu religion is the inclusion of a wide range of beliefs as acceptable -- pantheism, panentheism, monotheism, polytheism, and atheism included. So if one of the tenets of your faith system is that there are many legitimate ways of believing, you are rendered powerless to diss another religion.
How refreshing.
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