When I read Farenheit 451 in my senior year, I was convinced it was the worst book ever. Very deep concepts yes, but without the charm and wit that George Orwell brings to such satires. And yet the older I get and the more aware I become of the world around me, it's quite obvious that such things DO exist in America. It's no secret to anyone in this nation that we're not really as free as we'd like to think, but this isn't a political rant. It's a censorship rant, for yet another one of the pure and good things left untouched in this world.

I'm seeing the new Veggietales movie with Charity today and I've been so excited that I couldn't even sleep last night. It's been a long six year wait since the last movie; we've been teased and taunted with pictures, quick glimpses of what ideas they may use, and potential release dates. But finally it's here, and I think I might explode from excitement soon.

So in the middle of my veggie-thon, watching every VT movie I own, I decided to check youtube to see what kind of stuff they had there. I found a very interesting piece of news. NBC, trying to ride on the success of the 50 million videos Big Idea has sold over the years, finally agreed to air VT on their network. The catch? ALL REFRENCES TO GOD OR THE BIBLE MUST BE EDITED OUT.

Um... That's not Veggietales. That's the adventures of vegetables who happen to talk, sing, and dance. In fact, that doesn't leave room for much material, does it?

This is the same network who finally agreed to no longer censor the F word during NON-PRIME TIME TV! This is the same network who aired a religious parody of VT on Saturday Night Live. But we can't leave in refrences to GOD??

See, that's the great thing about VT. IF you know what it is, you know it's religious. And the best part? You have the power of the remote control!! Shock!! If you're so offended by a cucumber talking about the bible, you just flip the station and BOOM, offensiveness gone.

If you're going to cut all that out, you might as well not even bother. What on earth is VT without God or the bible?? No more verses at the end of the show? No more comforting messages about God's love, mercy, kindness? No more ending the show with Bob and Larry saying "God made you special, and he loves you very much"? That's what makes the show right there. Always leaves me with a great feeling and a goofy smile, and it's basically the center and heart of everything VT stands for.

This is Big Idea's mission statement taken straight from their site: "To enhance the moral and spiritual fabric of society through creative media". How is that offensive?! In us trying to not be offensive by being tolerant of all religions, we have become INTOLERANT!! We now live in a world where apparently the words "God" and "Bible" are more offensive than the f word!!

Veggietales is quite possibly one of the least offensive pieces of religious propoganda out there. If we're going to censor something as unoffensive as VT, I want them to stop recruiters from attacking me in the parking lot, and no more chic tracts in my halloween candy bag. VT, for being christian, preaches a message of tolerance and the general worship of God, no matter which religion you do so from. As a methodist, I've been offended but ONCE: in an episode called Sumo of the Opera, in which they tell the story of St. Patrick. They said peganists once worshiped twigs, mud, and pond scum and considered them powerful and gods. I was pretty surprised at the slight derailing of intolerance (peganists worship the EARTH, there's a big difference). But guess what I do? I fastforward through that part. Offensiveness gone. That's the only time I can ever remember them taking a crack at another religion. VT teaches about concepts that know no religion: selfishness, temptation, bravery, tolerance, thankfulness, facing hardships, and my personal favorite, standing up for what you believe in, no matter what that belief is. And here's the best relief: there has yet to be a video that has said Christianity is the right way, there's never been even a subtle reference to hell or how you end up in it, and not once has it even been implied that you should go out and convert your fellow man. VT is christian on the surface, but watching it, you'd see that it is compelety acceptable for anyone who just believes in God, and quite possibly even those who DON'T.

How sad is it that all this negative attention goes toward High School Musical, Hannah Montana, and Veggietales for the sole reason of being ICONS OF MORALITY?! We bend over backwards to make sure actors and concepts of popular children's icons are in check, and yet I have preschoolers at work who run around singing "Smack that" and "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me". More kids in aftercare prefer Family Guy and Simpsons to Sesame Street. A popular game among the grade school kids is Grand Theft Auto.

And why is no one put off by this? It's one reason, and the reason is this:

VT, HANNAH MONTANA, AND HSM ARE PURE, MORAL, AND DEVOID OF VIOLENCE, AND THEY'RE POPULAR.

They're pure and popular. Why can't America handle this? Who knows, but it seriously weakens my faith in humanity. How many times have you heard "Shut up about HSM"? More than I can count. How many times have you heard "Shut up about the Simpsons"? None? Yea. Exactly. People harbor a lot of ANGER that good morals are starting to take over.

But now we're taking God and the Bible out of VT? AND YET BUSH IS ALLOWED TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE BECAUSE OF MORAL, RELIGIOUS GROUNDS?! Censorship is going in a scary reverse direction, and it won't be long before that first amendment no longer means anything to anyone.

God bless,

-Chi <3

This is a strike-through

A What?

a strike-through

Oh, a strike through.

-Chi <3