Soaking in SpongeBob dilemma

MICHELE MARR

First, it was Tinky Winky, the Teletubby that Jerry Falwell picked on

for carrying a purse. Now it’s SpongeBob SquarePants, the wildly

popular animated sea sponge.

James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, a conservative

Christian organization, allegedly singled SpongeBob out for criticism

for being in a children’s video, which he believes is part of a

program designed to promote homosexuality -- to pre-kindergarteners

through first-graders -- in public schools

Focus on the Family is an evangelical Christian organization with

this mission: “to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in disseminating the

Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible, and,

specifically, to accomplish that objective by helping to preserve

traditional values and the institution of the family.”

The short video that ignited the hullabaloo is set to air on the

Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and PBS -- as a public service

announcement -- on March 11 and to be sent to 61,000 public schools.

Contrary to a plethora of reports, Dobson has not criticized the

animated sponge. His criticism was not even aimed at the video in

question; it was directed at the teachers’ materials made to go with

it, which he believes are intended, contrary to his religious

beliefs, to foster the acceptance of homosexual behavior as either

moral or not even a moral issue.

The We Are Family Foundation (established by Nile Rodgers of Chic

fame, for his song “We Are Family”) made the video and hopes

eventually to have March 11 recognized nationally as We Are Family

Day. The foundation’s purpose, according to its website

(www.wearefamilyfoundation.org), is to celebrate “our common humanity

and the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programs

that inspire and educate individuals of all ages about diversity,

understanding, respect and multiculturalism; and to support those who

are victims of intolerance.”

Ever since my goddaughter Vallee wrestled me onto the family’s

sofa to watch a few SpongeBob episodes, I’ve been on record as a fan

of the show. I found the cartoon rich with examples of how to treat

others with good manners and civil regard, even if you don’t like

them very much. SpongeBob has a knack for seeing the best in anybody.

Beyond that, the world of Bikini Bottom, where he lives, is a

whole lot of plain, silly fun, with episodes such as “Survival of the

Idiots,” “Band Geeks” and “MuscleBob BuffPants.”

SpongeBob lives in a pineapple with a pet snail. He works at a

fast-food joint, Krusty Krab, best known for its Krabby Patties. He

has quite commendable work ethics.

He emanates an almost manic enthusiasm for life. If he were in a

rock band its hit song might be “Sponges Just Wanna Have Fun.”

I never would have imagined this spunky sea sponge at the center

of such a controversy.

Columnists, comedians, reporters and commentators have torn into

Dobson for remarks he made at a Washington D.C. banquet hosted by the

Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and Gary Bauer’s

American Values.

New York Times reporter David D. Kirkpatrick, who was present at

the banquet, wrote a story afterward about what Dobson purportedly

said. That was, Kirkpatrick wrote, “SpongeBob’s creators had enlisted

him in a ‘pro-homosexual video,’ made to promote a ‘tolerance pledge’

that includes tolerance for differences of ‘sexual identity.’”

That pledge is on the We Are Family website. It reads, in part,

“To help keep diversity a wellspring of strength and make America a

better place for all, I pledge to have respect for people whose

abilities, beliefs, culture, race, sexual identity or other

characteristics are different from my own.”

On the heels of Kirkpatrick’s story, a surge of headlines mocked.

“Will SpongeBob make you gay?” “Tolerance, sensitivity and respect,

oh my!” “SpongeBob QueerPants: Nothing but Nautical Nonsense.”

A great number of the stories supposed Dobson, and other

conservative Christians like him, believe SpongeBob is gay because he

sometimes holds hands with his starfish friend, Patrick; he watches a

make-believe TV show called, “The Adventures of Mermaid Man and

Barnacle Boy;” and he’s become rather camp among gay men -- all

observations Kirkpatrick put forth in his article.

Rodgers has said Dobson’s concerns are unfounded and that neither

the video nor the teaching materials were designed to promote

acceptance of homosexuality. I’ve seen the video; it doesn’t mention,

even hint of, sex at all. But I have not yet seen the teaching

resources designed to go with it; they are no longer available for

download at the We Are Family website.

While most of the media brouhaha has focused on painting Dobson as

a right-wing alarmist picking on an innocent cartoon sponge, the

heart of the controversy has, by and large, been ignored.

That is: millions of Christian, Muslim and Jewish parents, whose

religious beliefs maintain that sexual behavior is a moral issue and

that both heterosexual sex outside of marriage and homosexual sex are

immoral do not want schools teaching their children otherwise. Yet

they increasingly find themselves living in a society where seeing

sexual behavior as a moral choice is, in and of itself, tantamount to

being a bigot.

On the other hand, gay and lesbian advocates increasingly want to

see schools teaching children, from as early as pre-kindergarten,

that homosexual behavior is not a moral issue at all, but instead, a

personal choosing of an alternative lifestyle.

The question is, in our pluralistic society, how do these opposing

sectors’ citizens live among each other in peace?

I say, let’s talk about that because the answers aren’t likely to

drift in with the flotsam at high tide.

* MICHELE MARR is a freelance writer from Huntington Beach. She

can be reached at michele@soulfoodfiles.com.