Tim Tebow + Abortion = Oh, you KNOW there will be blood...

This is neither an anti or pro abortion post. As much as is humanly possible I try to refrain from spouting off opinions and seriously discussing things that I have not ever, even remotely encountered in my (admittedly limited) life experience. Lets call this rule the "Don't sit on a soapbox and judge if you've never been to the mountaintop" rule. Why do I hold this rule sacred? Because it is very easy to sit here and say you would never do X or would definitely do Y, if all you're doing is sitting there talking about them in a vacuum and not actually doing any doing at all. If you've never been placed in the position to do never do X or definitely do Y, how could you truly know that you would never do X and would definitely do Y? You can't.

For example, it'd be easy for me to sit here and say "Oh, I'd never steal. Stealing is bad and its also a crime." Then again, I've never been truly desperate and hungry. Ever. Making such a statement in a vacuum is easy, especially when you're sitting on the sidelines. From the sidelines it's pretty easy to say things like "I'd never steal." You know what's not easy? Being desperate and/or hungry is not easy. If I was desperate, hungry and had mouths to feed there might be a lot of things I'd do that I wouldn't normally do if I weren't (including getting my Robin Hood on!). That's not to say I condone stealing or any other criminal or illegal behavior. It's just to say that I try not to judge people who steal or do any number of things that in a vacuum I might feel differently about -- because I've never walked a mile in their shoes and if I had to, well my list of "nevers" and "definitelys" might "evolve." The point is if you're looking for pros and cons to pro-life and pro-choice keep it moving.

Now on to the news and the outcry to have CBS not air the Tebow's "pro-family" ad during the superbowl. First, why the uproar over a superbowl ad that hasn't even aired yet?! I can't imagine the hoopla after the commercial is actually aired. SMH. Oh, there will be blood. This guy Tim Tebow can certainly create a stir. It goes without saying, Tim Tebow and the media's constant fawning over him and how great he is at football and life is one of the most controversial topics in America (unless of course you're a member of Gator nation and then you love it). Abortion? Needless to say its pretty high up there on the controvery scale. So I guess fireworks from combining the two is to be expected.

But still...I don't understand. As explained above the only people who should be spouting off either way in the contentious abortion debate are people who have been to the mountaintop. The Tebow's, by all accounts, have been to the mountaintop and have "wrastled" (Tebow for wrestled) with this immensely tough decision. Since they've been there and done that I don't find myself bothered that they want to share their story publicly. Obviously there story won't be for everyone. But that's the beauty of America...you can hear divergent opinions and make your own choices. No one holds a gun to your head either way when it comes to these types things (unless of course you're in the Wizards locker room, where apparently this might be a real concern...but that's a post for another day). So clearly, the Tebow's are entitled to their opinion and are entitled to share their opinion.

The question then is are they entitled to share their opinion publicly on TV? Obviously, and resoundingly yes. Not even the critics of the ad doubt that Focus on the Family has the right to purchase air time and run an ad on TV espousing "family values." Hence, the real question and what has critics most upset is that the ad will run on CBS during the Super Bowl...when you know a whole lot of people will be watching TV! Peculiarly mostly feminist and women's rights groups are urging CBS to abort the ad (no pun intended). Personally, I was unaware that such a large population of women was tuning in to watch some football (even for the Super Bowl), but am definitely happy about this development for sure!! At any rate its clear that anyone can buy an ad and try to get a station to run the ad for public consumption.

So CBS is under fire for allowing Focus on the Family to do just that. On the one hand if CBS had changed up its "advocacy ad" policy midstream to accomodate this ONE commercial (which wouldn't be surprising given that it is Tim Tebow and all) then I could see a legitimate beef. You can't just go changing network policies to accomodate one particular view point or one particular person or organization. That however, does not appear to be the case. Rather CBS has given every indication that it has changed its policy concerning advocacy ads over the last 5 years and according to a CBS spokesperson "most media outlets have accepted advocacy ads for some time." CBS further stated that they will "continue to consider responsibly produced ads from all groups for the few remaining spots in Super Bowl XLIV."

Now here is where I really don't understand all the criticism. I guess it is typical of a society that likes to talk a big talk, but invariably fails to walk a big walk. Yep, I'm about to take it back to the old school..."back in the day when I was coming up as a young whipper snapper and used to have to walk to school 5 miles barefoot in the snow" we used to say things like "put your money where your mouth is." It didn't really matter what the situation was (we could be playing 1-on-1 in hoops, tetherball, UNO, whatever!), but everyone knew you might fool around for awhile and get beat, but when it came to money time?? You stop playing games and get serious. Apparently these critics have forgotten another golden rule "Money Talks." So I get it...many advocacy groups have a different opinion on abortion than Focus on the Family and the Tebow's. Again, that's part of the reason America is so great...not everyone has to think the same thing or make the same choices. So when representatives from the coalition of women's rights groups opposing the ad were asked the imminently reasonable question of whether they planned to put their money where their mouth is and shell out $2.5 million dollars to run a super bowl abortion ad in line with their own beliefs, their resounding response was "no." And what of the United Church of Christ who was rebuffed by CBS in 2004 (before the policy change) when they wanted to run an ad showing gays worshipping in church? When asked if they would be putting their money where there mouth is and running a counter ad to show the pro-choice side of things or re-submitting an ad for gay rights, the Church's pastor responded with a resounding "no." Newsflash: you can't vehemently oppose CBS's decision to take $2.5 million dollars to run an advocacy ad, while on the other hand refusing to make the same investment in your cause that Focus on the Family has. If, as the critics whine it is, it is a super big deal to run a commercial on CBS during the Super Bowl, then seize the opportunity yourself...run a counter ad. Don't just sit around crying about things being unfair if you haven't even tried to get CBS to run your ad in this year's Super Bowl.

These organizations have not put their money where their mouth is and so there really is nothing to criticize. Focus on the Family and Tim Tebow broke no rules. I repeat (like it or not) the Golden Rule is money talks. Focus on the Family had some "generous donors" who felt a certain way about something and committed their generous pockets to making it happen. They didn't dig into the organizations coffers at all to pay for the commercial time. If any organization were to submit an advocacy ad for play by CBS during the Super Bowl (along with their $2.5 mil of course) and CBS flim flammed some reason for denying their ad while allowing the Tebow's? Then by all means there's a legitimate beef and critics should be criticizing. This has not happened. So until some of these critics start putting their money with their mouths are and gets rebuffed by CBS they should just pipe down and enjoy the game (and the funny commercials!).