A recent broadcast of ABC’s 20/20 shed new light on a celebrated murder case. The two thugs who fatally beat Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard granted their first television interviews from the prison cells where they’re serving life sentences. Though mainstream media eagerly embraced Shepard as a victim of homophobia, both killers described a robbery gone wrong that had no connection to sexual orientation. Indeed, the trial transcript gave no evidence that the two meth-crazed perpetrators — who had brutalized several straight victims in the days, and even the hours, before they assaulted Shepard — had been motivated by homophobia. Nonetheless, all three of the TV movies about Shepard portrayed his death as a “hate crime,” as did The Laramie Project, a play performed across the country in high schools and other venues. For gay activists, Shepard remains such a convenient martyr that they can’t face the increasingly obvious facts about his tragic death.
Abstinence Works, Every Time
New federal statistics show a continued decline in the rate of out-of-wedlock birth — suggesting the potent, positive impact of the recent federal emphasis on abstinence education. As Dr. Wade Horn of the Department of Health and Human Services sagely observes: “We don’t need a study, if I remember my biology correctly, to show us that those people who are sexually abstinent have a zero chance of becoming pregnant.” Supporters of condom distribution remain unconvinced, however, and James Wagoner of Advocates for Youth responds: “The only 100 percent way to avoid a car collision is not to drive, but the federal government sure does a lot of advocacy for safety belts.” What he doesn’t mention is that we strictly limit driving privileges to citizens over age sixteen — even if fifteen-year-olds used seat belts — and we strongly discourage driving without a license. Doesn’t it make similar sense to discourage intercourse without a wedding license?
“Chrismukkah” Is Nothing To Celebrate
The greeting card industry has succumbed to political correctness by offering new cards that combine elements of Christmas and Hanukkah — including greetings that proclaim “Merry Chrismukkah!” While this sounds like a good-natured way to acknowledge the friendly co-existence of Christianity and Judaism in the United States, it actually shows disrespect for both great religions. Christmas and Hannukah represent very different holidays with very different messages. Hannukah commemorates a victory in the second century BC by fervently religious Jewish militants against their assimilationist countrymen who sought to embrace Greek paganism and secularism. It is not a festival of religious tolerance, but a celebration of fearless intolerance of those who profane the one true God in order to worship idols. For those families with both Jewish and Christian members, it’s better to choose an authentic Jewish or Christian message than to make both traditions a joke by mixing them into a meaningless concoction called “Chrismukkah.”
(Film critic and USA TODAY contributing board member Michael Medved hosts a daily, nationally-syndicated radio show focusing on the intersection of politics and pop culture. You can visit his website by clicking here.)
