5 Things We Can Learn from the Duck Dude

I'm not really sure how to preface this.

One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog is because I always have so many thoughts running through my head about, well, a number of things. Social media is both a gift and a curse because it makes us aware of so many issues and controversies that we might not even care about otherwise.

Generally, what's going on in my head is not 140 characters or appropriate as a Facebook status. So I might have a chat with a couple of friends to get it off my mind, and then I move on.

But occasionally, I just have to write out my thoughts. And frankly, writing them for myself is not nearly as fun or as interesting as writing them for an audience.

I don't particularly want to start the very early days of my blog with a debate about homosexuality, gay marriage, free speech, and the media. But, since I have established this medium to communicate, I might as well take the opportunity to share some of my thoughts on the matter.

For those of you who have been living under a social media rock for the past 2 days, teach me your ways the "Phil Robertson Fiasco" started when this GQ interview went live. I'd recommend reading the whole thing to get a context of this conversation, and because that's what you're supposed to do--go directly to the source. Instead, there are an awful lot of people blasting their opinions from their platforms having only read one (or maybe even a few) articles and blog posts.

As I watched the internet swarm with SUPPORT PHIL ROBERTSON and PHIL ROBERTSON SUCKS commentary, I was struck by how many things we could learn about our country from this whole issue. Not just the issue, but how it was handled--by the media, by Christians, by the LGBT community, by all of us.

So instead of being yet another blog post that explains my opinions on the matter, I'm simply going to share what I think all of this reveals about the state of our country and our generation.

FIVE THINGS WE CAN LEARN ABOUT OURSELVES FROM THE PHIL ROBERTSON/DUCK DYNASTY CONTROVERSY

1. We are suckers for the news media and social media.

How many of you can actually, honestly say that, before forming your own opinion of Phil Robertson's comments, you read the original source?

If you did, congratulations. Your high school and/or college taught you the dying art of research.

If you didn't, don't beat yourself up too much. You're in the 99%. No, I don't have actual statistics on that but, the ignorance on social media speaks for itself.

To be fair, I  read an article about the article first. I don't exactly make a habit of keeping up with GQ, so I would never have read the article if it hadn't been for the Huff Post rant about it.

But as soon as I read the quotes out of context, I went straight to the original source (or as close as I could get without having Phil's cell phone number) to form my own opinion. HP even made it easy for me by providing a link to the original article--multiple, actually. But the article is three pages long, and who has time for that? Give me a summary, quotes pulled out of context, and none of the positive and not-so-controversial parts of the narrative.

If you didn't read the article, for example, you might not know that Willie Robertson and his wife are passionate advocates for adoption.

"Willie has just come back from Washington, D.C., where he accepted an award at the Angels in Adoption Gala. (He and his wife, Korie, adopted a biracial child named Will and are dedicated advocates of the practice.)"

Or you might not know about the family's sustainable farming practices and the nature-loving lifestyle by which the writer/interviewer seems particularly impacted.

"'See them little black seeds? See that? That's what ducks eat. They love that. It's called Pennsylvania smartweed. So we basically grow either natural vegetation or plants, or augment it, and we flood it.' In other words, the Robertsons are a legit farm-to-table family. Real pre-hipster shit...Whatever you think of Phil's beliefs, it's hard not to gaze upon his cultivations and wonder if you've gotten life all wrong. This is life as summer camp. It's gorgeous, in a way that alters you on an elemental level. I feel it when I breathe the air. I feel it when I survey the enormity of the space around me."

Don't get me wrong. I don't think that these positive aspects of the Robertson's family negate the comments made by their patriarch. However, I do think it's interesting and problematic that the media (and the writer of the original article, frankly) zeroes in on one or two particular issues that will, well, sell.

Just imagine for a minute if every post and news article that has been written about Phil Robertson's opinions on homosexuality had been, instead, written about adoption. What if news of the family's support of adoption had spread like wild fire? What might have happened then? I don't know, but maybe a family on the fence about adopting a child finally garnered the courage to apply. Maybe a young, scared, pregnant woman made the difficult but amazing decision to put her child up for adoption. Maybe some money was raised for a family that simply couldn't afford to adopt the baby they've been desperately hoping for. Maybe one or ten or a hundred more kids could be sleeping in homes with parents who love them because the media chose to focus on something that could actually make the world a better place.

But instead, we all get suckered into arguing about the first amendment and religious beliefs and human sexuality. I understand that human rights is an extremely important issue. But, we're not talking about an actual human rights violation here. We're talking about one man's opinions and beliefs about a controversial issue. Sure, he could have voiced his opinions with a little bit more tact--but isn't the uncensoredness of the Robertson family, particularly Phil, part of what makes them popular? Don't you think that's how A&E makes their money?

So, did A&E suspend Phil Robertson for the pretty crude and degrading way he described homosexuality, or did they suspend him for his quotation of Scripture that seems to point to homosexuality as a sin? Do any of us really think A&E is surprised (hey, are any of us surprised?) about the Duck Dynasty Patriarch's opinions on homosexuality? And, what if GLAAD and mainstream media hadn't blown up about these comments, but A&E had seen them; do we think that they would have suspended Robertson in that case?

Is A&E suspending Phil Robertson from their network because they actually want all of the people who appear on their network to be LGBT supporters, or because they were pressured (rightly or wrongly) by GLAAD to do so?

I doubt we'll ever know, but my distrust of the media leads me to believe that if no one had said anything, we'd still be seeing Duck Commander's face on A&E every Wednesday night.

This article makes some really great points, one in particular that I will end with on this issue of how the media locks us into single-minded boxes where we argue until we can't breathe. If you didn't know, Robertson also made some pretty shocking comments about the "happy" black people that he worked with in Louisiana during the Jim Crow days. Far less has been said about these comments--and Calvin has an interesting theory why:

"More interesting than Robertson's racist comments themselves is how little attention his statements have garnered. With the exception of a few articles, the overwhelming focus has been on the homophobic statements made by a man who, from a predictive standpoint, said exactly what we thought he would say.

As a white, male, southern, religious conservative in his 60s, survey after survey will tell you that every category he falls in, with the exception of his race, is less likely to be supportive of gay rights. So, what is the outrage about? His colorful expressions are what got him fame to begin with. If he had in a very prim and proper tone—'well, I respectfully don’t support that lifestyle'—would anyone have cared? 

I’m in no way defending his comments, I just find it troubling when we’re so quick to anger for him saying exactly what we expect him to say, while being so casual about his dismissive attitude towards America’s history of racial intolerance. 

I think the reason we so easily picked up on the homophobic comments while dismissing the racist ones is because, as a country, we don’t do a good job with layering complex subjects. National conversations tend to be singularly focused and in terms of social justice and civil rights, and I think gay rights issues have dominated the 2000s. We spent so much time in the last half of the 20th century coming to terms with our troubled racial past, and now that we’re attempting to come to grips with matters of sexual orientation, talking about race feels like a step back, almost dated."

2. We care too little about the major things. 

What Phil Robertson is quoted as having said during an interview with GQ is a difficult combination of negative language and words of the Bible. What Phil Robertson said is not, however, a violation of any human's rights.

Friends, there are real human rights violations happening all around us (hint: Duck Commander's beliefs are not one of them). There are more slaves in the world today than ever before in history. There are children who are forced to work without pay in deathly conditions. There are people being slaughtered for their beliefs, their sexuality, or for no reason at all. There are people dying of parasites because clean water is nowhere to be found. There are young women being sex trafficked in the United States and around the world.

As I said before with my adoption example, imagine the changes that could take place if social media exploded with demands for these horrific human rights injustices to be taken care of immediately...instead of demands to for a rich guy with a beard to keep his TV show that makes him richer.

3. We have no concept of real religious persecution.

Some people do. The missionaries who have lived overseas and been martyred for their faith--in horrific ways that I won't describe--they understand. The Jesus Freaks I've read about in this book. My friends who work in the 1040 Window, where Christians live in constant fear faith of their lives because of the God they worship. Or what's happening in Syria.

My brothers and sisters who are calling the suspension of Phil Robertson "religious persecution," please, please, please be quiet.

These times are confusing. I get that. It's not always easy to be a Christian, and sometimes we are misunderstood. Sometimes we put ourselves in positions to be misunderstood, though; this usually happens when we fail to live like Jesus.

But for the love of God, truly, do not equate Chick-Fil-A boycots and Duck Dude suspensions to the men, women, and children who literally give their lives in the name of Jesus Christ.

We have it really good in America. Phil Robertson's life has not been threatened in anyway. He is free to believe and worship how he wants without having his life threatened. In the same way, members of the LGBT community are tortured and murdered in other parts of the world--and I would like to think (and hope and pray) that we are nowhere close to that in our own country.

4. We (too) highly value our own opinions.

I'm just going to link to this article from Relevant Magazine because it pretty much sums up what I would have written here.

If you don't want to read it, read this: just because you have a place to say it doesn't mean you should. Phil Robertson, that goes for you too.

Side note: for Christians, we are called to a higher standard. All the more reason to not blurt out your first feelings on a controversial topic that may not sound very loving and "Christian" by the time you're finished with those 140 characters.

Author's note: I realize that, by writing a blog post about this topic, it may seem that I am one of these people who too highly values her own opinions. I think there is value in valuing your own opinion; the trouble comes when you are unable to recognize the value in the opinions of others.

5. We are extremely confused.

Mostly about what the First Amendment says and protects (if you need a refresher, Cornell University Law School has a great resource here) and also about what Jesus tells us to do (hint: LOVE).

Good luck with all your homework. Looks like you have a lot of reading to do.

But if you really want to exercise your brain, step away from the internet and pick up a book. There's no one to argue with but yourself.

Thanks for reading,
Leslie