Religious Right vs. ... Spongebob

Not content with having excoriated the vile, hedonistic, anti-family Teletubbies, the religious right is now gunning for Spongebob Squarepants. That's right. Spongebob Squarepants is dangerous, according to the apparently marginally intelligent "Dr." James C. Dobson, head of "Focus on the Family." Why must Christians hate Spongebob, you ask?

SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity."

Heaven forfend someone promote tolerance for homosexuals. Better yet, Dobson is (as is typical for religous wingnuts) wrong.

The video's creator, Nile Rodgers, who wrote the disco hit "We Are Family," said Mr. Dobson's objection stemmed from a misunderstanding. Mr. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the Sept. 11 attacks to create a music video to teach children about multiculturalism. The video has appeared on television networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The pledge, borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group's Web site.

You know, these groups are nothing if not emboldened and feel legitimized by Bush's reelection. So if you conservatives out there wonder why more moderate and liberal people are so disappointed about Bush's reelection and the rising influence of "values" and the religious right, waging war on Tinky-Winky and Spongebob gives you a good example why we feel that way. Hating on Spongebob & the Teletubbies is idiotic. These people should be marginalized, but instead they're legitimized.