16 OCT 05: LOSS OF FOCUS

Columbus is supposed to be a "Bible Belt, family values" place. Yet one of the best-known pro-family programs on religious radio has just been kicked off the air in this city -- and in this case, it's fair to say it was "Bible Belted."

James Dobson's half-hour "Focus on the Family" program has been dropped by WYFK-FM, the Bible Broadcasting Network station in Columbus. BBN officials announced Friday they "terminated" the broadcast - no doubt keeping in mind the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill."

BBN President Lowell Davey explained the network dropped Focus on the Family because the program was turning too political. When James Dobson gets a call from Karl Rove about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, and it's NOT about her child-rearing skills, that's a problem.

The BBN President explained his network's stations are licensed as noncommercial, and they could lose licenses if they air overtly political programs. Yet BBN brags about providing its air time free of charge - so couldn't a Democrat like Jimmy Carter do shows to balance things out?

(Overt politics doesn't seem to stop other noncommercial stations from.... no, wait. National Public Radio calls those things news programs.)

The Bible Broadcasting Network was presenting backup, non-political programs on days when Focus on the Family had political themes. But Lowell Davey claims the Focus staff declared a couple of weeks ago this would no longer be allowed. It was a typical fundamentalist religious message - "right" or wrong.

The strange thing is, Bible Broadcasting Network stations are about as button-down conservative as they come. President Lowell Davey openly opposes contemporary Christian music, and almost any song with a drumbeat. I wouldn't be surprised if BBN boycotts Eveready batteries, because of that bunny.

Yet Lowell Davey said BBN believes the church should NOT try to change the world through politics. That may come as a shock to a number of Columbus ministers - like Jimmy Elder on the Library Board, Joseph Roberson on the School Board, William Howell of Rainbow/PUSH....

Before I moved to Columbus, I was able to pick up the half-hour "Focus on the Family" on various Atlanta radio stations five times a day. Now the program isn't airing in this city at all, while a show called "Love, Lust and Lies" is on FM radio every afternoon. Isn't progress wonderful?

If you're a James Dobson supporter, the news is not all bad. While Bible Broadcasting kicked his half-hour broadcast off the air, his non-political family commentaries still air early every morning on WRCG - assuming, of course, anyone can hear WRCG's signal in the early morning anymore.

(C'mon, Archway Broadcasting - couldn't you simulcast Saturday night's Georgia-Vanderbilt football game on both WRCG and "Boomer 95.3" FM? I've heard cell phone calls from Stewart County more clearly than that game....)

James Dobson's non-political TV commentaries also still appear every morning on NBC-38. Put him together with Al Fleming, and I'm starting to seriously wonder about gardener P. Allen Smith.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Our Thursday mention of a bearded man outside Columbus Water Works apparently led to this message:

Dear Richie: I've thought many times of writing you about a small thing that happened to me recently. I was approached by a woman who asked if I could help her. I was walking across a parking lot, holding my six-year-old son with one hand, and clutching my purse with the other hand. In that second of time, I felt that I couldn't let go of my child's hand and I didn't want to open my purse for the woman's inspection, so I veered away from her, child in tow, and said "No" over my shoulder. When we reached the curb, my son looked up at me and asked why I wouldn't help the woman. I looked at him and then I looked at the woman who was walking away. I yelled at her back and asked what she wanted. She turned her head toward me and said "never mind" and she kept walking away. Her face was red. Truthfully, she looked fairly respectable, if a little bedraggled. I was ashamed of the way I had treated the woman, but I was also ashamed of my own fearfulness.

I have become fearful because, last year, a young man walked up behind me while I was fumbling with my keys, trying to unlock the front door to my house. He spoke very pleasantly to me and then he snatched my purse off my arm and ran with it. At the time, I was shocked by what he did, but I was grateful that he didn't try to get into my house. It scared me enough so that I have since become hypervigilant about steering clear of strangers. I used to give a little money to any beggar who asked, but now I don't slow down and I usually don't speak.

So, is my now-automatic knee-jerk rejection of all requests for help unreasonable? And what kind of man do I want my son to become? Do I want him to be like me, barking "No" at any stranger asking for help? Or do I want him to stop and listen and risk getting hurt? It's just not in me to expose my child to any risk where I can avoid it, but I don't want him to be hard-hearted, either. What would you do?

Love & kisses, M

In the first case you mentioned, I see no problem with putting your child's safety first. What if that woman had asked to borrow your son, instead of a dollar?

I'd guess many people do what M is doing -- either they try to avoid beggars, or turn them down cold. But after finding myself in the beggar's role when my car broke down a few weeks ago [26 Sep], I'd be disappointed. As the late Johnnie Cochran might say: If I can prove I'm hurt, don't treat me like dirt.

I've heard several ministers say love is risky, and showing love for others means hurt will happen. That's true in helping strangers, as well as romance - although admittedly I've had much more experience recently with the former than the latter.

And if your son learned to bark "no" at strangers, do you realize what could happen? He could have a great future as a Columbus police officer....

(BLOG-BLAH-BLAH: What would YOU do, if you were in M's situation? Send us your thoughts, and we'll post them after we return from vacation.)

Now other items of interest, before we hit the road for the Gulf Coast:

+ Which local sportscaster told me the other day "the fix is in," after I predicted the Angels would win the American League Championship Series? After four games and several disputed calls, this person appears more correct than ever.

+ My usual Saturday morning stroll in the Historic District found a five-kilometer race in progress. When a car goes south in the northbound lane of Broadway, either it's leading runners down a road course - or someone drank too much the night before at Bonehead's.

(The five-kilometer "Preservation Race" occurred not far from the annual "Help the Hooch" cleanup project along the Chattahoochee River. I assume the runners were the ones who didn't want to get their clothing dirty planting trees.)

+ An inside source I tend to trust reports construction on the new T.G.I. Fridays restaurant is three weeks behind schedule. Are the crews taking this name a bit too seriously?

+ WRBL news anchor Blaine Stewart revealed online he's lost 80 pounds since moving to Columbus four years ago. I'll assume he's accomplished this through proper diet and exercise - though I can't help wondering if his station's pay is so low that he's starving.

+ Instant Message to the staff of AFLAC: Do you plan to "adopt a duck" for that fund-raising race next weekend? Or are you entering your own?

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We're going on vacation for several days -- but we'll be filing "Classic Blog" items for you to enjoy as we're able, while we are away. Regular entries should resume around October 27.)

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