Sponge Bob Is Brainwashing Your Children!

My son loves Sponge Bob Square Pants, so needless to say, I was shocked to learn that he is being used for the purpose of "manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids." At least, that's what James Dobson and Focus on the Family are saying. How, you ask, is the harmless cartoon Porifera being so used? Well, here's what Dobson says:

Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity."

Scandalous! Sponge Bob being used to promote tolerance? Clearly, this is a message our children should not be exposed to!

But wait a minute, could it be that Dobson's attack is based on a misunderstanding (imagine that!)? It could. The videos creator sets the record straight:

The video's creator, Nile Rodgers, who wrote the disco hit "We Are Family," said Mr. Dobson's objection stemmed from a misunderstanding. Mr. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the Sept. 11 attacks to create a music video to teach children about multiculturalism. The video has appeared on television networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The pledge, borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group's Web site.

Mr. Rodgers suggested that Dr. Dobson and the American Family Association, the conservative Christian group that first sounded the alarm, might have been confused because of an unrelated Web site belonging to another group called "We Are Family," which supports gay youth.

"The fact that some people may be upset with each other peoples' lifestyles, that is O.K.," Mr. Rodgers said. "We are just talking about respect."

Perhaps Dobson should have watched the video, though I'm not sure that would have swayed him or his legions. Despite Rogers' clarifications, Dobson and other whack jobs are continuing to object to the video.

Maybe Dobson just doesn't like disco. With all that touching and undulating, disco dancing is pretty salacious! I've heard that there may have been some gay people who liked, or even performed, disco music, too.

Dobson once again reminds us that there are evangelicals that we don't want.