Dis ’em when they’re dead

Jesus was married, Pocahontas was a “medicine woman” and a spy, Ronald Reagan was a foul-mouthed, anti-homosexual simpleton and Nancy Reagan was the brains and manipulator of the presidency.

Oops. I got the tense wrong. It’s past tense for the first two people. For the last two, it should be “is” and the definition of this “is” means those two people are still alive.

There’s no doubt that “still breathing” is one of the reasons why there was such an uproar about “The Reagans,” the CBS miniseries, ostensibly an historical biography of the presidency of Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan.

To hear it from some quarters, the ultimate insult of the fiction of the production was not simply that it presented lies as truth, but because it was done while the two people defamed are still alive.

Ronald Reagan cannot, because of his fragile state of health, defend himself and Nancy Reagan has too much class to get into the mud fight that CBS would have loved. Think of all that wonderful publicity! Think of the ratings! Reagan despiser Barbra Streisand and James Brolin – her husband, who played Ronald Reagan in the series – would laugh and gloat. They got publicity all right, but not what they expected.

But be careful, because the implication of this criticism (that they’re living) is that this piece of television would be perfectly OK if it were aired after the former president and first lady had left this mortal plain. Since it was scheduled on the formerly esteemed CBS TV network while both are alive and while Mrs. Reagan is tending to her Alzheimer-stricken husband, it was considered a horrific affront.

But it was more. Living or dead, it was a lie, albeit packaged in theatrics, covered with imitative makeup for Brolin and viewed thru the magic eye of the camera.

Give actors words, dress them as the characters and add Lights! Camera! Action! and voila – movie magic! Unless the words are lies. In this case, they were.

A lie is a lie, but if you say it, you’re accused of censorship. Tough!

Any presentation of a person’s life or the recounting of history that takes such broad liberties with the truth needs to be exposed as a sham.

It has nothing to do with freedom of the press and creative license. It’s simply wrong when writers and producers do and say anything without compunction and call it creativity. It’s easier though, if the target of the lies is long gone.

Think not? Just as the Reagan controversy was soiling the skirts of CBS, another piece of dreck was foisted on us by ABC. It was a news special on speculation that Jesus married Mary Magdalene. The idea’s been out there for years, but to have a network news department tout a sweeps-month special is unheard of.

But, Jesus was crucified, Mary M is dead, and dissing Christians and their beliefs is fair game today. Sadly they get away with it. An angry full-court press against the network and sponsors didn’t happen and so it aired to live on in video and in gullible minds.

Pocahontas? Yes. A new book with her name as title by Paula Gunn Allen is presented as a biography but it’s creative fiction at best … or worse.

Never mind the traditional Pocahontas-Capt. John Smith history. Here, she’s presented as a mystical medicine woman who had dream visions of Smith. Even more, she was a “sacred spy” sent to check on the colonists, and fancied herself a great warrior.

That there’s no proof of any of this doesn’t matter. Attributing great powers to a Native American woman is good political correctness. And she’s dead. Who’s to complain?

The real issue in these instances and many others (think Oliver Stone or Michael Moore) is not creative freedom, but that the producers, actors and writers have an agenda. They also have the skills to make lies look and sound convincing to live on in gullible minds.

It’s easy when dealing with historical dead. But with living people, contemporaries will rattle cages until someone pays attention.

CBS heard, and dumped the network airing but the video exists, to be seen later on television or video. It will be used in schools and children will be taught blatant lies about a president who changed the course of history for the better.

The same is true of Jesus – the speculative video will be seen and will influence the gullible to believe the scam. And what of Pocahontas for young people who will not have the facts to test the author’s “creative” spin.

The truth is fragile, but lies live on. Never more true than today.