When I was young, I often looked to PBS's Mister Rogers not only to educate me, but also to help me deal with the many troubling issues of childhood-you know, things like "angry feelings." In addition to this, I firmly believe that watching the late Presbyterian minister change his shoes before every show is why I'm so good at tying my laces today.
The Muppets from "Sesame Street" were another great influence. I learned about gluttony from Cookie Monster and the evils of mathematics from the Count. Grover, the blue thing, taught me that the good guy is never the most popular, and Oscar the Grouch showed me that if a destitute person is mean-spirited, even if he is your neighbor, he doesn't deserve your help. Just let him continue living out his life in a trash can and move on.
All kidding aside, I do like PBS and appreciate the great programming it provided for me when I was young. Now that I'm older, there are even more shows for me to watch-though I do occasionally sneak a peak at "Sesame Street."
"Charlie Rose" is perhaps my favorite. Though the Duke alumnus can be dull on occasion, I think he is one of the best television journalists around. Not many are better than he is at drawing information from the interviewee-especially when the subject matter is difficult to approach.
The best show I have ever seen him do featured Oliver Stone after the release of his film "Nixon" (which, by the way, is awesome). Watching two of the most intellectually confident people in show business discuss art, history and politics for a full hour was an experience I'll never forget.
But perhaps the best thing about PBS is its documentaries. Who does not remember such classics as "The Civil War" and "Eyes on the Prize?" Just last year, PBS aired another fantastic program, "Slavery and the Making of America," which was narrated by the greatest actor of our time, Morgan Freeman. It also featured my uncle and one of Duke's best history professors as talking heads, which is kind of cool.
So I do enjoy programs on PBS. And it is precisely because of this that I struggle with the idea that the government should gradually withdraw all funding from it.
This is something brought up all the time on Capitol Hill. Indeed, politicians seem to consider cutting funding on a fairly regular basis. President Richard Nixon, though public broadcasting's government subsidies increased dramatically under his administration, was particularly antagonistic to the television station, which featured "left-wing commentators who are cutting us up." In 1972 he even vetoed a bill that would increase funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Legislators have proposed cuts many times over the years. And when this happens the supporters of public broadcasting most always storm the Hill, declaring that the government is hurting education and denying the American people intelligent programming, untainted by commercial interests.
The PBS characters themselves often gear up for action. Good old Mister Rogers at one time appeared before Congress to fight proposed cuts, and a couple of years ago I saw Big Bird march to the Capitol, demanding justice. And of course Bill Moyers is one of PBS's staunchest defenders.
Yet the biggest advocates for public broadcasting during the difficult times are its viewers (old people). I really came to realize this when I was interning in a D.C. congressional office two summers ago, and the Republican legislature was proposing cuts. The telephones were flooded with calls:
"How dare you cut public broadcasting funds!"
"My children adore 'Sesame Street!'"
"Mister Rogers would be rolling over in his grave!"
One caller, in particular, amused me. I'll use a fake name to protect her identity. Around 11 a.m. I picked up the phone to hear:
"Hello. My name is Susan Winthrop Campbell, and I'm calling the congresswoman because it is simply outrageous for her even to consider cutting funds in public broadcasting."
After about 10 or 20 seconds of this, I informed her that she was in fact speaking to her great nephew.
The deluge of phone calls, including that of my aunt, just goes to show how passionate people are about public broadcasting. For many of them, it is the only source of quality news and entertainment.
But I don't count myself among these folks. In fact, my natural inclination as a conservative is to believe that the government should never subsidize media. Even so, it just seems too late in the game to cut funding.
Since many Americans have grown to love the programming PBS offers, and since the government has willingly funded the Corporation for too long, it would be wrong to change course now.
And if right-wing legislators really want to reduce unnecessary taxes, aren't there better places to look?
Jamie Deal is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Thursday.?
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