It’s been said, “You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” That axiom is certainly true as we move closer to the debut of our Pam and Tim Tebow commercial in the Super Bowl. While the spot has yet to air, the overwhelming reaction to our theme of “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life” has been positive.
I’m not surprised. Tim Tebow’s story is inspiring. Back in 1987, Tim’s mother Pam experienced a number of life-threatening medical problems during her pregnancy and, in turn, was coached by her doctors not to carry the baby to term. Since it was quite possible that her baby w
ould be stillborn, her physician’s believed Pam shouldn’t take the risk to her own life by going through with her pregnancy.
After listening to their advice, Pam chose to keep her fifth child—and now the world has Tim Tebow. This former Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner is arguably one of the most gifted quarterbacks to emerge on the college scene in recent history. I’d say Pam has given us an inspiring story of personal courage against the odds. After all, she was willing to risk her own life in order to give her son a chance at life.
Who could have an issue with that?
Like I said at the outset, you cannot please all of the people all of the time. There are a number of detractors who are outraged by the decision by CBS to air a spot which celebrates family and life. In fact, I’ve been swamped with interview requests—many from national media outlets like Diane Sawyer on ABC News, Headline News, and FOX’s Special Report with Bret Baier last night—to address both our critics and supporters.
Overall, I’ve been pleased with the civil tone of the debate. We may have to agree to disagree on a given topic, but there’s certainly no need to engage in a shouting match. For instance, I think Bill O’Reilly did a great job earlier this week addressing the concerns of one of the protesters. Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh weighed in on whether CBS should have agreed to air this spot by pointing out some of the flaws in the argument by our detractors.
Even the women on ABC’s THE VIEW took up the topic. Several seemed sympathetic to Tim Tebow’s story and didn’t have a problem with CBS running with the spot. However, there was something said by co-host Joy Behar that I’d like to address for a minute. Here’s Joy’s objection to Tim’s story:
The only argument against any of it is, that, you know, [Tim Tebow] could just as easily become some kind of rapist pedophile. I mean, you don’t know what someone is going to be. So in this case he turned out to be great.
Joy went on to elaborate on her point:
To me it would be like, say, Ted Bundy—who was a serial killer; very good looking—if his mother said in an ad, “I wanted to abort him but somebody talked me out of it!” [audience laughter] I mean it doesn’t make any sense, this ad.
While Joy’s comment got a laugh from the television studio audience, I’m not sure she sees the trouble with such an argument. I did a quick Google search and found that there have been fewer than an estimated 200 to 300 serial killers in the United States since 1970 (depending on the source). The death toll attributed to their grievous actions numbered less than 2,000—which is, no question, a horrific tragedy.
But consider this, too. While 2,000 died at the hands of these criminals, almost 50,000,000 babies have died from abortions performed in the same timeframe. Is Joy really sure she wants to suggest that it’s a good thing Americans have aborted 50 million babies because—mathematically speaking—we might have prevented additional serial killers?
Can you see why that perspective caught my attention? My view is that the best policy is to err on the side of celebrating life. That’s why Focus is thrilled to partner with Tim, his mother, and their story.
Amy P
says:
I am very proud that Tim Tebow is willing to do this ad for Focus on the Family. What a great role model for our sons.