CNN Takes a Swipe at Religion

Written by Sid BridgecloseAuthor: Sid Bridge Name: Sid Bridge
Email: sid@thesidagency.com
Site: http://www.theendive.com
About: Sid Bridge, APR is Senior Editor for Parcbench. He is also Editor-in-Chief of The Endive, an online humor magazine for conservatives. As Parcbench's Senior Editor, Sid enjoys working with a diverse team of writers, each with his or her own unique personality. Sid is a happily married father of four, and a rare breed - an orthodox Jew who likes muscle cars and wears cowboy boots.See Authors Posts (73) on November 3, 2009

Maybe CNN’s anti-religion statement was a subconscious one, but it shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Yesterday, CNN.com gave top billing to two stories, side-by-side. One was the tragic story of a young woman who was run down by her own father because she had become too “westernized.” The other was a story about Jews who are choosing to express their religion in unconventional ways, including tattoos and rap music.

Many of the Jews profiled in the story had chosen to go against Jewish law in order to try and bend the religion in a way that suits them. As a Jew myself, I’m all for connecting to Judaism, but only if you’re not tearing the religion down in the process. Tattoos are clearly a violation of Jewish law, and to flaunt Jewish symbolism in tattoo form is a bit like taking the brand new Shelby Mustang your dad just bought you and carving your initials into the paint with your keys.

Sure, you showed some appreciation, but what you did “just ain’t right.”cnn, jewish, judais

On the flip side, we have yet another story that puts a black eye on fundamentalist Islam. True, fundamentalist Islam does tend to lend itself to these extreme actions, but it also fosters believe in G-d and a moral and ethical code.

The bottom line, as spelled out subtly by the juxtaposition of stories on CNN is that fundamentalist religion = bad, revised and relaxed religion = good.

It’s an unfortunate truth that a tragedy attached to a religion will sell magazines and advertisements. One nutcase murders his own daughter and not only do national news outlets jump right in, but they are forced to do so or lose ground to their competitors.

A fluff piece about the watering down of Judaism for today’s youth ignores the fact that actual observance of Judaism is more counter-culture than getting a tattoo. If someone wants to stand out and draw attention to himselves because he’s Jewish, I guarantee that wearing a Yarmulke will be more effective than getting a tattoo these days. Trust me on this one.

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Sid Bridge, APR, is the Senior Editor of Parcbench and the Editor-in-Chief of The Endive, a satirical newsmagazine (www.theendive.com). He also wears a Yarmulke with reckless abandon.