This is becoming pathological, deeply disturbing and perhaps even a case for serious psychotherapy.
Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to eliminate OETA because it “indoctrinates children.” Programs like Clifford the Big Red Dog are to blame, because there was an episode where someone had two mothers, and since that never actually happens in the real world, kids should be protected from the truth (read: lied to). Stitt said that OETA “just overly sexualizes our kids.” Overly? Does this mean that there is some level of sexualizing that is OK? Perhaps he’s watched too many programs on network TV, because OETA can’t possibly compete with The Bachelor, not to mention Toddlers & Tiaras.
We heard the same thing from Ryan Walters, who also believes indoctrination is evil unless it’s the right kind, especially the religious kind. “Why are we using taxpayer dollars to support something that competes with the private sector?” asked Stitt. “Taxpayers should not have to pay to subsidize a TV station.” He said he ran for governor to protect taxpayers from funding things they shouldn’t be forced to support. Right on.
That’s why Stitt has met secretly to appropriate large sums of taxpayer dollars to make undisclosed promises to big companies if they move to Oklahoma. Lately, those bonuses were just not enough. Why? Because our schools are so bad. The answer? Ask the taxpayers to—you guessed it—subsidize private school tuition that none of us paid our taxes to support (including religious schools which clearly violates the separation of church and state) so that more families moving to Oklahoma will be able to use those precious taxpayer dollars to subsidize things the taxpayer shouldn’t be forced to support. Right on.
As for using taxpayer dollars to support something that competes with the private sector, we voted to do that when it comes to public broadcasting because otherwise our only options are corporate media. In other words, we voted to be able to choose programming that is not censored by oil and gas, or by the chamber of commerce or by local stations whose weathercasters dare not say the words, “global climate change.” That’s indoctrination.
In other words, we voted to use our public funds for what we consider to be a valuable public purpose. We know that without ad revenue, OETA cannot compete with the private sector, but we also know that this frees them from corporate journalism and bottom-line censorship. Fox News is what you get when private money is all that matters: A news station that knowingly lied to its viewers about the last election to enrich itself. Those intentional lies drew a straight line to Jan. 6, 2021, where real people died and democracy almost did. Compare that to Clifford the Big Red Dog, or another demon according to Fox News, Work it out Wombats!
Try to remember, Gov. Stitt, that OETA stands for Oklahoma Educational Television Authority. For over five decades, many poor children learned to read and do math watching Sesame Street. Kids learned that their feelings matter, and that other people’s feelings matter, watching the incomparable Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Oklahomans, especially in rural communities, could escape the abysmal trash of “private sector” TV to watch Masterpiece Theater and Antiques Roadshow, not to mention documentaries that are second to none, especially the bravest investigative program left on television, Frontline.
As one of many Oklahomans who watches PBS News Hour religiously, my wife and I are rewarded with an hour of thoughtful, in-depth news, arts and entertainment programming, and the occasional Brief-but-Spectacular testimonies of amazing human beings. On Fridays, we get the chance to hear two thoughtful men from different political parties, David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart, having civilized and insightful conversations about things they don’t always agree on. Compare that to the slash-and–burn journalism of the private sector and you’ll understand why so many of us love OETA. Public radio and public television are an oasis in a jungle of hyper-polemical noise, not to mention a respite from truly oversexualized network programming. Oklahomans love OETA—just ask them.
Truth be known, the Ozzie and Harriet programing of the 1950s may have done us more harm than learning about families with two moms or two dads. Our kids already know about those families. They also know about kids who sometimes grow up feeling trapped in the wrong body. The question is, how should an honest and compassionate society handle this reality? By pretending that it does not exist or by confusing information with propaganda? Learning about something is not the same thing as being encouraged to give it a try. This fear, that talking honestly about sex would encourage more sex, has always been the argument against sex education in our schools. Exactly the opposite is true.
Now that the governor is modeling truly adult behavior by vetoing every bill that reaches his desk because he didn’t get his way, some of our most disadvantaged and endangered kids will not get the help they need. The unsigned bills include Senate Bill 291, which adds child abuse as a reason to file for a protective order. Compare that to the threat posed by Clifford the Big Red Dog.
As for teaching diversity, equity, and inclusion, Ryan Walters says that those programs are “positively Marxist.” Has he read the inscription on the Statue of Liberty lately? DEI is positively American. As for “oversexualizing our kids,” that ship sailed a long time ago and parents have long had to navigate those troubled waters by monitoring what their children watch. Modest proposal: If you think Clifford the Big Red Dog is grooming your kids, then don’t watch it.
But let’s be real. The private sector does not solve all the problems of life. In fact, news and programming governed strictly by the bottom line is what has given us the ocean of lies in which we are now drowning. Thank goodness we have OETA.
Now what will you do to make sure we keep it?
The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers is pastor of First Congregational Church UCC in Norman and retired senior minister of Mayflower Congregational UCC in Oklahoma City. He is currently Professor of Public Speaking, and Distinguished Professor of Social Justice Emeritus in the Philosophy Department at Oklahoma City University, and the author of eight books on religion and American culture, the most recent of which is, Saving God from Religion: A Minister’s Search for Faith in a Skeptical Age.
Visit robinmeyers.com
