Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Tim Tebow

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know there is one thing that I steer clear of.

Politics.

Why? Well, quite frankly, I just hate it when people don't get along and it seems that whenever politics enters the picture that's exactly what they do.

They don't get along.

Religion is another hot-button topic. However, that's one I just can't keep my mouth shut about. Since it's my blog, I think I have the right to choose what I do and don't want to get into.

And I don't want to get into politics.

I have my opinions, and I'll share them personally (or via email) if you ask. But politics is such a hot-button topic. So many people on so many sides. And I, personally, believe we have more that we agree on than what we disagree on. It's just that in our country you have to choose one side or the other. Democrat or Republican. Pick. You can't be in the middle. Well you can try but you won't get very far.

Anyways, this blog entry is probably the closest I have come to bridging the world of politics with my life in the defrosting polar north.

I'm waiting for Kristi's plane to come in and I have a few minutes to kill. So why not.

One thing I won't go quietly on is the issue of abortion. I am pro-life. Without a doubt. That makes me more on the side of the Republicans. However, I have many friends who are Democrats and they are pro-life. So let's not forget that. Just because you are pro-life does not mean you have to be a Republican. There are many issues which define which party you belong to.

Okay so let me try to get back on track.

Unless you have fallen off the face of the earth, you have probably heard about Tim Tebow (and Focus on the Family's) advertisement which will air during the Superbowl. If you haven't heard of it: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I mean I don't TV and I got that news. Get with the program people.

(Just joking around. Lighten up, okay?)

Anyways. The ad. The ad does not mention abortion. It simply encourages people to celebrate life. Tebow's mother was encouraged to have an abortion after he was conceived. An abortion she obviously didn't have. Her choice gave the Gator's their All-Star quarterback.

If you want to be inspired, take a moment to search for Tebow's name on youtube. You'll get all sorts of video clips of an upstanding guy. Even if you aren't a Christian, you have to respect someone who is an upstanding guy. A guy who respects women. Who is not out drinking and getting high and sleeping with anyone he can.

Right?

Well I'm not so sure. This ad has really sparked controversy. And here's where some of the politics come in to play.

I wanted to share an article with you by Sally Jenkins, a sports columnist for the Washington Post. Here's why I am sharing this. I'm sharing it because Jenkins is pro-choice. I think it is important to keep in mind when you read her stance on why "Tebow's Super Bowl ad isn't intolerant; its critics are." I really think that the best place to get an honest answer is to search one out from someone on the other side. Seriously. Don't you think?

If you don't want to read the whole thing, here is a shortened version that I think you'll find very interesting.

Something to think about at least.

---------------

I'll spit this out quick, before the armies of feminism try to gag me and strap electrodes to my forehead: Tim Tebow is one of the better things to happen to young women in some time.

As statements at Super Bowls go, I prefer the idea of Tebow's pro-life ad to, say, Jim McMahon dropping his pants, as the former Chicago Bears quarterback once did in response to a question. We're always harping on athletes to be more responsible and engaged in the issues of their day, and less concerned with just cashing checks. It therefore seems more than a little hypocritical to insist on it only if it means criticizing sneaker companies, and to stifle them when they take a stance that might make us uncomfortable.

I'm pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I've heard in the past week, I'll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the "National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time." For one thing, Tebow seems smarter than they do.

Tebow's 30-second ad hasn't even run yet, but it already has provoked "The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us" to reveal something important about themselves: They aren't actually "pro-choice" so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical.

Pam Tebow and her son feel good enough about that choice to want to tell people about it. Only, NOW says they shouldn't be allowed to. Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn't.

There's not enough space in the sports pages for the serious weighing of values that constitutes this debate, but surely everyone in both camps, pro-choice or pro-life, wishes the "need" for abortions wasn't so great. Which is precisely why NOW is so wrong to take aim at Tebow's ad.

Here's what we do need a lot more of: Tebows. Collegians who are selfless enough to choose not to spend summers poolside, but travel to impoverished countries to dispense medical care to children, as Tebow has every summer of his career. Athletes who believe in something other than themselves, and are willing to put their backbone where their mouth is. Celebrities who are self-possessed and self-controlled enough to use their wattage to advertise commitment over decadence.

You know what we really need more of? Famous guys who aren't embarrassed to practice sexual restraint, and to say it out loud. If we had more of those, women might have fewer abortions. See, the best way to deal with unwanted pregnancy is to not get the sperm in the egg and the egg implanted to begin with, and that is an issue for men, too -- and they should step up to that.

"Are you saving yourself for marriage?" Tebow was asked last summer during an SEC media day.

"Yes, I am," he replied.

The room fell into a hush, followed by tittering: The best college football player in the country had just announced he was a virgin. As Tebow gauged the reaction from the reporters in the room, he burst out laughing. They were a lot more embarrassed than he was.

"I think y'all are stunned right now!" he said. "You can't even ask a question!"

That's how far we've come from any kind of sane viewpoint about star athletes and sex. Promiscuity is so the norm that if a stud isn't shagging everything in sight, we feel faintly ashamed for him.

Tebow's ad, by the way, never mentions abortion; like the player himself, it's apparently soft-spoken. It simply has the theme "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life." This is what NOW has labeled "extraordinarily offensive and demeaning." But if there is any demeaning here, it's coming from NOW, via the suggestion that these aren't real questions, and that we as a Super Bowl audience are too stupid or too disinterested to handle them on game day.

----------

P.S. I plan to leave the comments enabled for this blog. Feel free to share your opinion in a kind way. Someone asked me once about the "rules" of commenting on blogs. Is it okay to leave an anonymous comment? I personally, don't think leaving anonymous comments is a problem UNLESS you are doing it because you really don't want anyone to know you wrote it. I think the rule is that if you are sharing something nice and positive, leaving your name isn't that big of a deal. But if you are going to share a statement that anyone might find bothersome, you should be able to put your name "behind it" or you shouldn't say it. My name is on this blog. It's like writing a letter to the editor, blasting them for their stance on such-and-such but not leaving your name. I hope that makes sense. I'm kind of babbling but hopefully you get the idea. :)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to the ad being aired. Look forward to the day when people scratch their heads and wonder how abortion was ever legal in the first place.
Laura from HP

Amanda said...

I completely agree!!! It's so sad to live in a time that views not being promiscuous as something to be ashamed of!
A man who is saving himself for marriage or for that matter is even remotely selective about partners he chooses is seen as a freak.
This young man should be made an example of instead of being made to look abnormal. The author is right to say that the world needs more men like him. If not to bring down abortion but for the betterment of the world as a whole.

Katerina from Washington. said...

I once dated a guy (briefly for obvious reasons) that when I told him I was waiting for marriage told me that I wasn't normal, that I was a freak and that he would never date anyone that wouldn't sleep with within, get this, 5 DATES!!!!!! Needless to say the relationship ended there.

Anonymous said...

I love the ad. I love the idea of a star athelete in such a positive role model. That said, my concern with running the ad is the philosophy that if one side gets a say, so should the other side. So...should they also have to allow a pro-choice ad to run as well? I don't like that either, but I sure do see their point if the tables were turned. OK...so we have both sides now - there's always the opportunity for God to open a window if He's allowed a crack to get inside! Smiling Angel

Jackie said...

I too can't wait for the ad to run. It is incredible how in a country with the freedom of speech the ad is being ridiculed for protraying a positive message, and not encouraging alcoholism and sex!

Thanks for posting this... I too am pro-life, but like to read the "other" side's opinions.

Anonymous said...

Pro choice and anti abortion sides are inherently unequal. If I'm prochoice, I don't force anyone to have an abortion. But anti-abortionists want to force their standards on others. I think pregnancy/abortion is a private and medical issue. Politicians should stay out of it.
That said, I still think people should have high moral standards (no sex outside of marriage) and I admire people who hold to those standards. No one should be ridiculed for having high standards.

Christina @ Faith for Fertility said...

Thank you for sharing this article. It's about time someone from "the other side"had something positive to say about the Tebow ad. I totally agree!! I'm looking forward to seeing the ad...the only reason I'm watching the Super Bowl!

Anonymous said...

My problem with the whole thing is this notion of you have to labeled as one way or the other. If I said I'm not Pro-Life, then you would assume that I'm Pro-Death, or the other way around. I don't think anyone is Pro-Death. But I think there are times where an abortion could be medically necessary, and for it to be illegal would have dire consequences to the mother carrying the baby. I have decided that I'm neither. I'm not Pro-life or Pro-choice because those two labels do not include everything. That is why I also do not consider myself Republican or Democrat. There are too many things to consider - too many things that I might agree with/disagree with on both sides. Anyway, I'm interested to see the ad, but I'm honestly offended by that Sally Jenkins woman calling people intolerant. I'm just curious, and I don't want politicians telling me what I can and cannot do with my body.

And to Jackie... I think the free speech argument can't be used here. At least the ad is being shown. A gay matchmaking service wanted a Superbowl ad, but CBS turned it down. How's that for putting down free speech?

Jess said...

I'm a (pretty staunch) republican and pro-life (for the most part, I'd like to see legislation that protects women who are in, even POSSIBLE, danger medically as well for the sake of their families, or who are carrying a child with a certain terminal dx for their sake). I'm not a huge FOTF lover, but I say bravo to Tebow.

Blessed Blackman Bunch said...

Well Done Wendi! Love me some Tim Tebow. Just leaving it at that. You know we well enough to my other thoughts! :) Love you

miss fluffy said...

i don't dig tebow, mostly because Florida is an SEC rival for me! but i respect his character in spite of his fame, and i hope he can keep it up. after seeing the ad, i'm not sure if i heard about the ad incorrectly, or if they changed it. didn't really follow the news about it, but i have to say, it was good - and funny! and supposedly, NOW decided that, while the couldn't really be upset over the abortion issue, they were upset about the "violence to women" that it promoted. i wonder if they cared about betty white getting plowed a few commercials later?!? i just wish we could quit playing stupid games in this world... sigh.