Show Commentary oe can didate isrs' t afraid to take stands "Tarly IF 1HE "REV WERE ELECTED polls show Vice President (icorgc Hush is backed by 58 percent of Republicans for the Presidency But in his first as he took on the New York TV real CS8 contest in Michigan on establishment on its turf — and May 27 Hush got no more votes I came away than the Rev Pal Robertson impressed In a fust step of choosing delInstead of bragging that CBN is wired to 31 million homes or egates to the 1988 Republican that its ad revenues have douconvention some 4500 supporters of the Freedom Council a bled annually since commercials were first sold in 98 — he atgroup founded by Robertson tacked the unwholesome proqualified to run for precinct delegate slots in Michigan's primary gramming of the networks — — equal to Hush's 4500 and far hardly the way to launch a presidential race which depends on n ore than Rep Jack Kemp's TV coverage! 3600 Robertson cited a poll of leaOfficially Robertson says he is "praying" about whether to ders who said TV is the "second most powerful" US institution outer the race But make no second only to the Presidency he running And his strength is that he "And some feci it is the most ikes clear moral stands on powerful A President has only traditional politicians would years Politicians have to get access to the media but those refer to avoid Similarly Jim-ion TV already have access Carter the first Presidential we should "Therefore be indidate who said he was a Christian found a aw are of our responsibility The French have a phrase 'noblesse rong loyal base of support with evangelicals who helped him oblige' — nobility obligates We win are part of a privileged nobility first heard of RobHut when Jesus said 'Unto whom much is ertson's candidacy I was not given much will be required" That's why CBN limits its prothrilled found it offensive Indeed gramming to shows that "do that a man who had never something to strengthen the famserved in public office had the ily" He said this works commeraudacity to run for President Further he seemed to be capitalcially: CBN has "12 of the top 5 cable shows" (such as "Leave fame as a izing on religious leader — founder of It To Beaver") And he noted the Christian Broadcasting Nct-- : that the top two network shows also support family values: "Bill work and host of its leading show "The 700 Club" — for Cosby" and "Family Ties" But Robertson lashed out at personal political gain saw the violence seen on nightly TV: However in March "I serv ed in the Marine Corps in some of Robertson's moral fiber Michael McManus (xnfermerrt" mfc err 6 m?oo yma is Korea I taught bayonet class on ecutive dared to answer his how to eviscerate I've lived in question One asked for his answer to and I'm 56 But I've never seen anyone shot poverty He noted that CBN on a street or killed in cities of used some of its $230 million of Yet America children see 18000 revenue to "help feed clothe and acts on violence on TV by the house 8 million people" But the time they are 18" more basic answer was showing "Yes there is violence but it ghetto residents "love compasmuch more brutal in Hollywood sion care and introducing them Life is precious We should celeto the Lord — saying 'You are a brate it and preserve it" child of God and are not just a Speaking without notes he number" And he backed better looked at the New York produceducation ers and attacked their programs "But literacy without morality showing "many different ways of does not do any good Hitler had sex one contortion after anothmany PhD's working for him er Being educated does not guaranbondage sex tee a useful life" Asked what he thought of the "Don't we have some responRobertson First Amendment sibility in this enormously powto use our said "My ancestors helped draft erful medium creativity and our resources to it My people were Baptists in Virginia which had an estabstrengthen our cities through showing our young how to make lished Anglican church and this nation a better place to were put in jail for their faith" live?" That of course was not w hat But not one New York TV ex these modern Pharisees wanted to hear4 "How do you feel about censorship" another asked "I dislike censorship but the speech in pornography is not under the First Amendment's protection Pornography is an $8 billion industry controlled by organized crime They don't care about free speech They only want to crank out garbage Instead of government censors why don't the stations say we won't play this stuff?" I raised my hand and said "I would like to hear someone in New York television respond to his challenge" Their silence was embarrassing People care about these issues The Christian Civic League of Maine got 48500 people to petition for a unique statewide referendum to outlaw the sale of obscene materials Though the effort failed Pat Robertson would approve of the w illingness to try Illness paranoia can worsen health problems If had niv wav we would eliminate the word cancer from all obituaries in newspapers and on TV For some reason when a promthe media feel it necessary inent person dies to inform us of the disease he succumbed to "Screen actor Ray Milland died today at age 78 lie had cancer" Was there a single newspaper or TV station in the countrv that did not give us the cause of Milland's death? Do we have ti know? W in? Cancer is the disease most people live in fear of It onK exacerbates our fears to be told of all the people wluare dving of n It adds the feeling of helplessness mmv feel in the face of this dread and rampant affliction 12 Church News Ogden George R Plagenz There is some good medical evidence that the stresses set up in us by these reminders of cancer's deadlines can adversely affect our body's responses to this disease and others The w riters of a new book "The Healer Within" — one of the authors teaches at Harvard Medical School — say that hopefulness and a sense of control over one's body are associated with less sickHut it is hard to ness and belter recovery remain hopeful about the state of our health when the talk all around us is about disease Lew is Thomas a doctor and the author of the best selling book "The Medusa and the snail" explains why our obsession with sickness is bad for us it causes us he says to overlook the wonders the body can perform when left to its own devices W'e have lost all confidence in the human body" he says "The new consensus is that we are badly designed vulnerable to a host of hostile influences inside and around us and only precariously alive and perpetually in need of health-carprofessionals" Thomas points to TV which "feeds on health — or more precisely on disease — for a large part of its sustenance" He mentions the "medical dramas (and the illness and surgical episodes threaded stories) through many of the in which the central human delemma is illness" He comments too that "almost all the commercial announcements on an average evening arc pitches for items to restore failed health — things for stomach gas constipation headaches nervousness or sleeplessness" Drugs says Thomas"have taken the place of prayer" Far from being ineptly put together says this physician "we are amazingly rough durable organisms full of health ready for most contingencies" But we must believe in the body he says W orry had stress and preoccupation with sickness interfere with its operation June 28 1986 |