More on the Parents TV Council

You remember the Parents TV Council, the group that wants to take the remote out of your hand and decide for you what programs you’ll watch. I’ve written previously on this same subject here and here (the post titled “Anybody Home at the FCC?”). TV censorship isn’t exactly a burning issue, of course, when you compare it with the war in Iraq or Bush’s assault on the environment. But this issue just seems to crystallize so many of the contradictions between Republicans’ slogans and their actions. They preach endlessly about self-reliance and individual responsibility, and yet we’re not able to operate our own TV sets; the FCC needs to do it for us. Free enterprise, “limited government,” the free market, “let the marketplace decide,” but when a TV program with millions of viewers is offensive to .001% of the audience, the government should step in and take it off the air. Focus, people! Make up your minds!

Anyway, if you disagree with the Parents TV Council, you should know that your tax dollars are subsidizing them. That’s right! Donations to the Parents TV Council are tax-deductible. I just found this out from their website at http://www.parentstv.org/.

So, some know-it-all wants to censor your favorite TV program, and makes a donation to the Parents TV Council – your tax dollars are subsidizing this person (i.e. when one person gets a tax deduction, other taxpayers have to pick up the slack). Whether you like it or not, you’re helping the organization that wants to grab the remote out of your hand and tell you what you can and can’t watch. What a deal!

Their website lists the URL and e-mail addresses of all the TV networks and most cable stations. This is so you’ll contact these stations and tell them you’re a devout Christian and you want their communist filth and smut taken off the air. But instead, why not contact the TV stations and let them know that you can operate your remote just fine; and you don’t need the Parents TV Council to baby-sit for you.

After all, who owns your TV set? You, or the Parents TV Council?