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Years ago I was a substitute teacher just outside Chicago. There were days when I had the opportunity to join special education classes, which included kids with Down Syndrome. I am not lying when I say that those were some of the best kids I ever had the privilege to meet.
Given that experience, you can see one of the many reasons why a story out of France caught my eye just before Thanksgiving. It turns out that a commercial by CoorDown titled “Dear Future Mom” is now officially banned from the airwaves. The reason? It might “disturb the conscience” of women who elected to have an abortion.
The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed on the story Wednesday:
“Abortion is legal in most of Europe, but its proponents are bent on suppressing efforts to change the minds of mothers considering it. Witness France’s ban on a television commercial showing happy children with Down Syndrome (DS).
Produced to commemorate World Down Syndrome Day, the commercial showed several cheerful children with DS addressing a mother considering abortion. “Dear future mom,” says one, “don’t be afraid.” “Your child will be able to do many things,” says another. “He’ll be able to hug you.” “He’ll be able to run toward you.” “He’ll be able to speak and tell you he loves you.”
France’s High Audiovisual Council removed the commercial from air earlier this year, and in November the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, upheld the ban, since the clip could ‘disturb the conscience’ of French women who had aborted DS fetuses.”
Ask yourself this question: If French courts are permitted to ban a television commercial that features smiling kids because it might “disturb the conscious” of some viewers, then what is off limits?
Answer: Nothing.
Whether you agree or disagree with abortion, then I hope you can see just how incredibly terrifying this court’s logic is from a free-speech and religious liberty perspective. People often behave like the liberties enjoyed by the western world will be around forever, but that is not the case.
“But Doug!” you said, “Why should we care about France? We sort of expect that kind of thing from the French and Europe as a whole, right?”
The truth, sadly, is that every nation has Thought Police — even the U.S.
One merely needs to check out BuzzFeed’s hit piece on the hosts of HGTV’s hit series Fixer Upper. Writer Kate Aurthur founder herself a juicy target to destroy because a popular married couple is suspected of a Mind Crime. That’s why she wrote “Chip And Joanna Gaines’ Church Is Firmly Against Same-Sex Marriage.”
Shocker — Christian family belongs to a church that does not approve of homosexual relationships.
Perhaps Allahpundit over at Hotair put it best:
“The BuzzFeed piece is proof that we’re past the persuasion stage now in the culture wars, particularly as regards gay rights, and into the bludgeoning stage, where the left feels secure enough in its gains to try to strongarm the holdouts.”
Boom.
In France, smiling kids with Down Syndrome cannot appear on television. In America, Christian couples with hit television shows have giant websites trying to find ways to destroy their career.
In France, powerful legal councils keep you off the air if you “disturb the conscience“ of women who had an abortion. In America, liberal reporters will try to derail your television career if you “disturb the conscious” of secular Democrats.
And with that, I will leave you with a quote by John Philpot Curran:
“The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt.” — John Philpot Curran.
If you do not think you have anything to learn from men who were born in the 1700s, then think again.
Douglas Ernst Blog 
Just prepare for the end, because America’s days are numbered. As a veteran whose sweat and blood joined the pantheon of true American heroes… it greatly saddens me. But in the end, the American flag will fly in my heart and my trigger finger will be strong. And like every combat veteran, I plead to the heavens/Buddha/et all that I’m wrong because violence is a nasty, dirty thing. I would love to avoid ever having to dish it out again, but I’m also a fighter and am incapable of rolling over and playing dead. Sigh, how did it come to this? We’ve become the government our Founders warned us about. We’ve become worse than the monarchy we fought a revolution to oust. But now I’m sympathetic to General Charles Cornwallis. The world really HAS turned upside down.
“As a veteran whose sweat and blood joined the pantheon of true American heroes… it greatly saddens me.”
I may have said this before, but at the end of the day no one can take away the honorable nature of your service. You did something that only a tiny fraction of a fraction of all humanity understands, and that is something to smile about.
“Sigh, how did it come to this? We’ve become the government our Founders warned us about. We’ve become worse than the monarchy we fought a revolution to oust. But now I’m sympathetic to General Charles Cornwallis. The world really HAS turned upside down.”
I feel you on this one, man. There are many good arguments to back your claims. I’ll just keep plugging away at this blog, at work, and in my personal life. My conscious is clean. Basically, when I’m on my death bed, my plan is to essentially be able to salute and say, “It’s been grand! I gave it my best. See you on the other side…”
Oh me too, I don’t feel like what they’re doing dishonored my combat experience. But, as a father, it breaks my heart to know the freedoms are slipping away. I want to know my sons reach manhood in a society worth the sacrifice we all made. It could still be saved, turned around, but too many have surrendered the fight.
“…those were some of the best kids I ever had the privilege to meet.”
I did the same Doug, they are wonderful people that should be treated better. In my opinion they should be disturbed, they need to know what they are doing. I have a very personal view on this situation. I get tired of hearing about the rights of the mother because they never once think about the right of the unborn child. It is also important to mention that doctors make mistakes about the health of the baby frequently and sometimes put pressure on a mother for an abortion, which sickens me.
Moral relativism at its rawest, most ironic form. It’s so delicious I feel like I’m gonna puke…
And with each new story like this, my heart sinks a little more. France and Germany are good as done at this point, and America is struggling to reclaim its once-deserved status as the great beacon of democracy, but it’s fighting an uphill battle. The day the West completes its transformation into an Oligarch nightmare might as well be the day the rest of the world declares “free will is a lie!” as we’ll all soon follow suit… unless ISIS manages to wipe us out first.
God help humanity…
Can’t top this reply:
(in case it doesn’t embed, the text follows)
“The @BuzzFeed fiasco shows that, for some, the worst thing a Christian can do is be likeable.”
“Can’t top this reply…”
Zing!
I think what Buzzfeed is doing to Chip and Joanna Gaines is beyond despicable. It’s the old “guilt by association” thing. And even if they did agree 100% with their pastor, who cares? They’re entitled to their beliefs. It’s another witch hunt, just like what they did to Duck Dynasty and those two brothers on HGTV whose show was cancelled because they were pro-life and pro-traditional marriage. This time, though, it seems to be backfiring and thank God for that.
If you want an example of fake news, look no further than Buzzfeed. That site is absolute trash and makes Weekly World News look respectable in comparison. Not to sound like a certain comic book writer or anything, but if I were the Gaines, I’d seriously consider taking legal action against Buzzfeed.
Isn’t that sad? You’re quite right, some of the best people in the world have downs. They also have a lot to teach us. Thanks for linking it all to the greater struggle at large, to Christian values and to free speech not censored through a lens of political correctness.
“They also have a lot to teach us. Thanks for linking it all to the greater struggle at large, to Christian values and to free speech not censored through a lens of political correctness.”
There is an unhealthy desire to run from anything that might be painful or difficult. There are times when it’s warranted, but people don’t seem to understand that stress is what causes us to grow — mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Why don’t French officials just come out and admit that they want North Korea-like laws that would mandate abortions for any baby with a deformity or disability? That’s essentially what they’re signaling by banning this commercial.
Such a shame to see an acting conscience “babysat”. Why must be constantly obsess over feeling better over dealing with every kind of complicated emotion? I’m autistic and I’ve had to deal with that and various other forms of anxiety all my life, and I’m a fully formed person because of the difficulties I’ve overcome. Life is’nt always a feelgood sensation, in fact too much of that and you just become numb to life entirely.
“I’m autistic and I’ve had to deal with that and various other forms of anxiety all my life, and I’m a fully formed person because of the difficulties I’ve overcome.”
One of the reason why stories like this out of France concern me is because medical technology keeps improving. Should a mother be able to abort her child just because there is a 98 percent chance it will be autistic? Should she be able to abort a child just because it will be born without a left arm? Where do you draw the line? This is why over the years I did a total 180-degree shift on abortion… Human life begins at conception and all human life is sacred.
That video brought a tear to my eyes. It’s a beautiful message that should be praised, not banned.
I know a girl at church with Down Syndrome and she is a wonderful human being, always smiling, has a good job, her own apartment and lives a very fulfilling productive life.
“That video brought a tear to my eyes. It’s a beautiful message that should be praised, not banned. I know a girl at church with Down Syndrome and she is a wonderful human being, always smiling, has a good job, her own apartment and lives a very fulfilling productive life.”
You’re not alone! 🙂