Religious Zealots Picking the Wrong Fight

On the six month anniversary of the 9/11 attacks CBS showed a documentary that was filmed by two French brothers. The film included the only pictures of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. The brothers were in New York to do a film about a rookie firefighter, and ended up with a front row seat for one of the most shocking events in U.S. history.

I remember watching that show when it first aired, and thinking that this was a show that every American should watch at least once a year to remind them of what we're up against. It captured better than anything I've seen the horror and shock of the attacks in New York, and was filmed with the first responders - many of whom did not survive the day.

The emotions of the firefighters and police officers who responded were raw and open, and some of the language was as rough as you'd expect under the circumstances. However, in the context of the day, who can blame them?

Well, I guess the American Family Association can blame them because with an updated version of this documentary about to be shown again on CBS on September 10th, the AFA is gearing up their zealous members to flood the FTC and CBS with complaints about the raw language that their tender ears may hear during the broadcast:

So far, about a dozen CBS affiliates have indicated they won't show the documentary, another dozen say they will delay it until later at night and two dozen others are considering what to do.

On Friday, Sinclair Broadcasting became the latest company to say it was delaying the broadcast until after 10 p.m. on its stations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Portland, Maine, saying it was concerned it could face fines.

The announcement came as the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association readied its 3 million members to flood the FCC and CBS with complaints after the documentary airs.

"This isn't an issue of censorship. It's an issue of responsibility to the public," said Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the group, which describes itself as a 29-year-old organization that promotes the biblical ethic of decency.

The documentary first aired on the six-month and one-year anniversaries of the Sept. 11 attacks on the trade center and the Pentagon. This latest showing, on the eve of the five-year anniversary, includes new interviews with many of the firefighters featured in the original, describing how their lives have changed.

Franks said it was an easy decision not to edit the language in the documentary, especially since it has won a George Foster Peabody Award, among others. "It was a much more difficult decision five years ago when the emotions were much more raw and fresh," he said.

Franks said it seemed "dishonest somehow" for the network to cover up the real language five years later because of the current regulatory environment...

Sharp promised on Friday that his organization would flood the FCC with complaints, saying nearly 198,000 people already had told the FCC they want the agency to "enforce the law should CBS decide to break it."

Do you ever wonder why the much of the secular world considers Christians a bunch of stiff-necked weenies? Well, here you go. This kind of "holier-than-thou" stuff just drives me nuts. America needs to see this documentary, raw and uncut, because 9/11 was not a sanitized TV show. It was a real attack that killed nearly 3,000 real people, and given the conflict in the country today regarding the war on terror, attempting to sterilize this event does more harm than good.

AFA - you need to shut up. If the language bothers you, don't watch it. I'm sure your TV's have an off button just like mine does.