This morning we decided not to go to church.
Yesterday was our oldest’s birthday and frankly, we were WORN out and decided to take a day of Rest. And that’s what Sunday is about!
On Sundays that we don’t go to church, we have cinnamon rolls, coffee, and watch CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood as a family because it’s relaxing, family friendly, and has been a tradition for both Chris and I.
This morning, during a story about Religion and the Military that focused on a young man who is an Athiest and currently suing the Army for religious discrimination, there was a spate of graphic language. Jeremy Hall was describing what some fellow soldiers called him as they followed him around in Quitar. There was no warning by CBS, no sign whatsoever that there was about to be such graphic language. I don’t even want to repeat it here because I don’t want to hurt you either. I was compelled to write to CBS Sunday Morning to let them know of my displeasure with the editing decision to leave the graphic comments in the piece. I’m usually not one to promote the idea of censorship of television shows – however – when I am watching a program that I feel safe with and something like this happens, I am deeply saddened and shocked. As soon as he started to use the graphic terms, I switched to the other TiVo and turned on a kid-friendly cartoon.
Below is a copy of the email I sent to CBS Sunday Morning. When I get a response, I will post it as well.
If anyone else caught this and would like to complain, I urge you to contact CBS Sunday Morning at sundays@cbsnews.com and let your voice be heard.
CBS Sunday Morning has been a tradition in my family for years and one I have begun to pass down to my own young children as it has always been a wonderfully produced and educationally exceptional program that I could count on to be family friendly. Imagine my surprise this morning as we were watching CBS Sunday Morning and without warning of adult language on the horizon, Jeremy Hall stated some rather graphic names that he had been called by a group of men in Quitar as a result of filing a lawsuit regarding his religious discrimination experience in the military. I immediately switched to our other TiVo and put on a kid-friendly cartoon. Thankfully my four year old was not intently watching the television when this occurred.
I am truly disappointed by CBS’s decision to include such graphic language in the context of a typically family friendly program and sincerely hope that there are no plans to repeat this behaviour. I am interested in knowing why this graphic language was left in the program that was to air during the day. If your show was an evening new journal, I don’t think I would have been so shocked and saddened. While I certainly can sympathize with Mr. Hall’s concern for his religious freedom, I believe the story would have been told just as well without the graphic nature of the names he was called.
I appreciate your hard work that goes into every week of CBS Sunday Morning and hope that my family and I are able to continue watching your program together.