A Word for the Birds

During the first presidential debate of 2012 Mitt Romney vowed to cut funding for Big Bird, Jim Lehrer and all other programming on PBS. Well, I have a few things to say about all that.

Last evening (10/7/12) my wife and I watched the two-hour special on the Discovery Channel, titled "Winged Planet." We loved the movie "March of the Penguins" narrated by Morgan Freeman, but this bird show topped even that. From mini-cams on the backs of birds that gave all of us viewers a 'bird's eye' look at our world, to the feeding/hunting methods of birds, to their astounding migration patterns, it was a feast for the eyes.

Most touching to me was a segment that followed a French photographer (yes, Republicans, there are good things even in France that we can adore!) who literally hatched goslings in his hands, served as a surrogate mother during their development and led them around via the sound of a bicycle horn - and then flew alongside them in a light aircraft, photographing them in flight.

Though the Discovery Channel is a publicly funded company and therefore (I presume) not on Romney's 'hit list,' it is every bit a testimony to the value of public, educative TV - along with Big Bird, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Sesame Street and all the other informative shows on television. Each of these offerings is a testimony to the human spirit and contributes knowledge of our world and ourselves.

I don't take seriously Mr. Romney's promise (or threat, as the case may be) about de-funding public television, since I assume it was a comment meant most for Tea Partiers and others on the far right. But I do take seriously the power and worth of education for all, not just children. Television and the Internet are powerful tools for good. Let's not hamstring them or disparage their value.