"Murphy Brown": On Integrity

September 29, 2002

by John F. Schmidt

Candace Bergen, in her "Murphy Brown" character, gave birth to a fatherless child on her TV show some years ago, portraying it as "normal and healthy". Dan Quayle received a collective "back of the hand" from the Hollywood media and liberal mainstream when he dared to challenge that assumption.

As strange as it may seem, Mz. Bergen admitted this summer that Dan Quayle’s criticism was "a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable, and nobody agreed with that more that I did." That comment illuminates something very wrong with her character, and perhaps the character of many of us as well.

Chuck Colson, in his Breakpoint commentary of 09/23/02, brought this quote to my attention, and rightly noted in his article that television programming damages the morals of our children. He used the Murphy Brown character as an example.

But another disturbing fact emerges when Mz. Bergen’s comment is analyzed. She states that "nobody agreed with that (Dan Quayle’s criticism) more than I did." She used past tense, indicating that at the time she was doing the TV show, she was portraying something she (now says) she strongly disagreed with. Yet she continued to act in her role, and in public, as if she believed that "Murphy Brown" was right. In other words, Candace Bergen is a hypocrite.

Taking into account the fact that she was only playing a role - acting - perhaps one should not be too hard on her. But somehow I can’t bring myself to absolve her of her behavior. Secret agreement, but public silence, constitutes tacit support, not opposition.

A person of integrity based on the traditional Judeo-Christian worldview could not accept a "Murphy Brown" role. It debases motherhood and fatherhood and instead exalts deliberate unwed motherhood as a good thing - and fatherhood as irrelevant. If TV shows "teach" our young people what is right and wrong, then "Brown’s" character is clearly part of the problem not the solution.

This lack of integrity, sadly, is not confined to Candace Bergen. There are legions of us who are content to "let the other guy" pay the hard price for standing up against what is wrong. We are content to hold our tongues when some crude youth mouths obscenities in front of our wife and children in a public place. Many of us wouldn’t even grab the clicker and turn off "Murphy Brown" when the show was on the air.

This hollowness of heart echoes in the chambers of America’s churches, too. We lack the will take a stand anywhere other than the safe confines of a church building. The church knows what is right, but, with a few blessed exceptions, is thunderously silent and irrelevant in American society.

The Bible records the actions of another man who had his lapses too. Joseph of Arimathea was a "secret disciple," for "fear of the Jews." But in the tempestuous hours following the death of Jesus, Joseph had the temerity to approach Pilate the Roman governor with a request. He had no way of knowing whether he might be clapped in chains or harmed for his boldness. For just that morning, Pilate had been humiliated and manipulated by the Jewish leaders into condemning a man he had repeatedly declared to be innocent. It was dangerous for any Jew to approach a powerful man in that frame of mind. Yet Joseph went and asked for the body of Jesus. We now know the touching end of the story, but we should not overlook the fact that when Joseph went to Pilate, he was risking his life. He was doing what he knew was right - in fact - he did the thing that only Love would do. And he didn’t have a guarantee it would come out all right before he went.

We don’t either, but that does not make any difference at all. We who know the Truth are called to stand for what is right whether we win or get torn to pieces by lions. And we need to act with the right motive - not some rancid sense of self-righteousness - but a care for - a Love - of others. As we have the chance each day, let’s act with Integrity in whatever calling we have chosen.

A clear conscience is not obtained by confessing to right beliefs, after we failed to act on them.

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John F. Schmidt has written numerous articles over the last decade. Politically, he is an Alan Keyes-type Republican. Along with his wife, he has organized voter drives in Pennsylvania, and been active politically since the 1990 elections. His livelihood, until recently, was spent in automation engineering for a large global equipment manufacturing company, specializing in coal mining. WANB in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania hosted Schmidt's weekly talk radio program "Issues and Answers." His writing is intended to relate the headlines of today to the foundation of eternal truth - the Scriptures. He currently resides in Palm Beach County, Florida. Visit his website at: Inalienable-Rights.org

Send the author an E mail at Schmidt@ConservativeTruth.org.

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