This morning I was watching one of the major network news shows. They had a segment about an upcoming show about a transgender child’s fight to use the school bathroom of his/her choice. While I understand that this child might feel ostracized by having to go to a special bathroom that was inconvenient, I want to consider what else is going on here.

The interview was slanted to make the child a very sympathetic character. Anyone who was not sympathetic to the problem faced by this child because he had to walk down an extra hallway to get to his/her bathroom was seen as unfeeling. I believe the child was a girl transitioning to a boy and wanted to use the boys’ restroom. The purpose of this show is to make parents and students comfortable with the idea of a biological girl using the boys’ room. As a parent or a student, are you comfortable with that? I understand the dilemma if the child is truly transgender (that is another wholly separate discussion), but what about the child who simply wants to use the other bathroom and tells the teacher (or whoever) that he (or she) is transgender when he/she is not? Are we putting our school students at risk here? Is it an unnecessary risk?

Television has been used to impact the culture since it arrived. There have been some positive influences and there have been some fun influences, but the majority of television’s network programming undermines the basic foundations of our society. The news on the major news channels is no long objective and is aimed at promoting a specific point of view. The mainstream networks no longer report news–they tell us what to think and what to be outraged about.

We are at a crossroads. It is interesting that a few people in Hollywood have realized that filth does not sell as well as good things and are making family movies again. However, television has not yet gotten the message. When you look at the ratings of MSNBC, you wonder why they are still on the air. The answer is simple–someone is paying their way because they are supporting a definite political viewpoint that their supporters want put forth. All of us need to be very careful what we let come into our house–both in terms of people and in terms of entertainment. We are in danger of losing our values and thus our way of life.