When Bert and Ernie Go Gay, All Is Lost
By Todd Strandberg
I absolutely hate the leftist term progressivism. As a philosophy, it is based on the idea of progress, which asserts that advancements in science, technology, economic development and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition. In reality, it’s the same debaucheries that have destroyed many previously great empires.
Our society has been progressing on the sexual revolution for several decades. We never arrived at a state of tranquility because lust leaves a void that can never be filled. Temporary satisfaction can only be achieved by going from one vice to another.
About a year ago, former Sesame Street writer Mark Saltzman said he had written scripts thinking of Bert and Ernie as a gay couple. The fixation to make these two characters homosexual lovers dates back to the beginning of the show. But in response, Sesame Workshop said that “Bert and Ernie are best friends” and that even though they have human characteristics, “they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation.”
This children’s program has a history of introducing new muppets that reflect the current liberal culture. I remember they had one muppet that was homeless, another one came from a broken home, and recently they had one with a family member that had a drug problem. The only reason why Bert and Ernie are sleeping in separate beds is that Sesame Street executives know that parents would currently go ballistic if they made such a move now.
A poll from my birth state of Iowa shows how rapidly moral standards are changing. Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is about 9 points ahead of the four other leading Democratic presidential candidates. It’s not that he is an openly gay mayor that is remarkable. What is stunning is that we’ve reached the point where a candidate’s sexuality is no longer a factor.
The fast-food chain Chick-fil-A has been a favorite target of the left. After what one company executive called “years of taking it on the chin,” referring to the decades of hectoring leveled at the firm by gay activists, the press, and cities and universities with a liberal bias, the chain announced its decision to withdraw support from Christian charities with traditional Christian views on human sexuality.
Beginning next year, Chick-fil-A will move away from its current philanthropic structure. After donating to more than 300 charitable organizations this year, the Atlanta-based fast-food chain will instead focus on three initiatives with one accompanying charity each: education, homelessness and hunger.
The motivation for Chick-fil-A’s announcement has it come out the resounding loser in what the liberal media has labeled the chicken-sandwich war. For several years, the press has promoted chicken products from various other fast-food chains. When Popeyes came out with a sandwich that could match the quality of the one sold by Chick-fil-A, the liberal media acted like Popeyes had just discovered a cure for cancer.
I think the change in Chick-fil-A’s donation plan is a huge mistake. The company had already done this several years ago. The new philanthropic policy appears to be strictly secular to avoid supporting any Christian organization that may have a sexual view that the left can disagree with.
Chick-fil-A is still under attack because the LGBTQ people need an enemy to make into a scapegoat. No amount of public display of contrition will ever suffice. Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), for instance, expressed predictable dissatisfaction with Chick-fil-A’s gesture. The organization’s director of campaigns, Drew Anderson, released a statement noting that, while the company has stopped “financially supporting anti-LGBTQ organizations, Chick-Fil-A still lacks policies to ensure safe workplaces for LGBTQ employees and should unequivocally speak out against the anti-LGBTQ reputation that their brand represents.”
A key problem with the LGBTQ agenda is that there is no way for believers to make peace with this movement. The folks at GLAAD will never be happy until all companies renounce their Christian heritage. If Pete Buttigieg became president, he would demand that Bert and Ernie get married, and he would pressure Chick-Fil-A to fly the rainbow flag.
“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet” (Rom. 1:26-27).
–Todd