Last week, the growing conservative media behemoth Daily Wire announced plans to create an entire world of children's programming in an effort to provide concerned parents with an alternative to the current fare offered by progressive entertainment giants Disney and Nickelodeon.
The move followed the humorous launch of Jeremy's Razors, a men's hygiene brand created by Daily Wire's CEO Jeremy Boreing, in response to their former advertiser Harry's Razors unceremoniously dropping the partnership because of "conflicting values." The mantra Boreing espouses in the brand's hilarious launch commercial is a simple one: "stop giving money to people who hate you."
That reality, along with the even more pressing expectation I feel from God to raise my children to chase after honorable, excellent, praiseworthy things, has me exceedingly hopeful about DW's new children's venture.
My three elementary-aged kids have already been introduced to themes and issues that are entirely age-inappropriate. To be clear, I don't just mean that they've seen imagery or heard profane things that I was trying to shelter them from for as long as possible. I mean they've asked for explanations to things that their minds are not mature enough to even understand at this point. It's not just incredibly awkward for Jenny and I as parents, it's immensely frustrating to them as well.
Having a legitimate, well-funded, creative alternative that will both engage and entertain them without the emotional baggage and spiritual warfare present in so much mainstream content that currently exists will be a tremendous blessing to our family. It isn't that I need cartoons and kid shows to teach Bible stories; it's that I need some that don't teach perversion and decadence.
After all, it's not like anyone can pretend that isn't precisely what Disney and Nick offer. The former has been trending across social media for weeks now thanks to a concerted effort by investigative, independent journalists to expose what's happening behind Mickey's curtain:
Meanwhile, over at Nickelodeon, the company just used their social media platform to celebrate and promote the physical and emotional abuse of a young boy:
You might notice that Nick had to turn off replies to the tweet because of the indignant response of so many rational people grossed out by the abuse.
With these two morally rudderless corporations the world leaders in children's programming, it's hard for me to fathom how there wouldn't be universal elation – at least throughout the portion of the population that considers themselves slaves to Christ – that a viable alternative to such hopeless, ethically obscene content could be forthcoming.
Nevertheless, progressive Christian voices have seemed less than thrilled.
To be sure, this was only one in a multitude of mocking, derisive, and even angry tweets from higher profile left-leaning Christians regarding DW's announcement. I've referenced Lambert instead of those because I respect him. It's fair to say we would have legitimate theological and socio-political disagreements, but since following him, I've found him to be genuine about his faith, and intent on bringing the gospel to widows and orphans. I appreciate his voice and have not only been challenged by his perspective, but I'd like to think he's helped me grow to a fuller appreciation of the wisdom and counsel of Scripture.
And that's why I'm at a loss to understand this response. The Daily Wire is a politically conservative organization, of course. But from a religious perspective they cover a wide swath of the spectrum with the company's most recognizable face being an Orthodox Jew. They aren't a non-profit with a mission statement to advance the gospel of Christ; they're a company with the economic objective of making money.
What they're promising to do is to create kid-friendly content that allows parents like me the freedom to not worry about what my children are consuming. To be frank, I don't need my child's favorite cartoon character teaching them about Jesus. I will do that. I don't even need them providing character-building lessons. I can do that as well. But an outlet that creates fun, engaging, humorous shows that don't introduce adult themes or covertly indoctrinate my kids? Yes, please.
That's the point that DW writer Megan Basham made recently in responding to Nickelodeon's alarming child abuse:
Bingo. So returning to Zach's tweet, maybe I have a blind spot due to my politics, but it's hard for me to rationalize why I should be angry that a company is planning to appeal to my parental concerns in exchange for compensation. Am I not capable of using my resources to help the poor AND purchase safe and morally inoffensive content for my own children to consume?
To be blunt, I'm far less perplexed about the intentions of a company catering to my Christian parental needs than I am fellow believers who attack them for doing so.
