To The Ghouls Who Want To Defund PBS: We Know Exactly Why

In a late-night, early-morning Senate voting session that began on Wednesday, July 16, and ended on Thursday, July 17, the Senate approved the Trump administration’s $9 billion rescission package that aims to cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as reported by NPR. Of that money, CPB will lose $1.1 billion over the next two years — money that supports NPR, PBS, and their member stations.

It’s something that’s been talked about before, something that Fred Rogers (also known as Mister Rogers) fought against back in 1969.

But here’s the terrible thing: Bigotry has no expiration date. And defunding public broadcasting, specifically PBS, is an incredibly purposeful move meant to harm the most vulnerable of us. More than 58% of all U.S. televisions watch PBS each year. PBS Kids averages 15.5 million monthly users and 345 million monthly streams through their digital properties.

For 21 years in a row, PBS has been named the most trusted institution by Americans when they’re looking for news content.

Yet, this administration wants to tear it down.

There is truly no good reason for defunding PBS. People will try to claim that the money could be better spent or that we shouldn’t have to pay taxes on broadcasting, but we know exactly what it is. And it’s something I want the Trump administration to say out loud: What is it you don’t like about PBS? Is it the diversity of characters and stories shared? The underlying belief that children can be and do anything?

So say that then. Say that you don’t want kids to see themselves represented on television. Say that you don’t want low-income families to have access to quality education programming.

Senator Ted Cruz made it clear: “NPR and PBS have revealed their left-wing bias time and time again,” he said, according to NPR. “If you want to watch the left-wing propaganda, turn on MSNBC. But the taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize it.”

Left-wing propaganda? Muppets teaching children to read? A lovable tiger family and his neighborhood teaching kids how to handle their emotions and be kind? Non-commercialized news programs that give viewers the straight facts without any kind of partisan warping?

Got it, Ted.

Honestly, any argument that your taxes shouldn’t help other people is the sorriest excuse. If you want to live in a society, you have to help the village. If you want to have the best citizens, the happiest and healthiest places to live, you have to be willing to work together. So say it: You just don’t want people — not just children, but adults — to have information. You want them fed your own personal nonsense, spoonful by spoonful.

When you add in the attempted destruction of Head Start programs, it’s obvious that this administration — the entire Republican Party, actually (when people show you who they are, believe them, you know?) — prefers that the low stay low. Low-income families clearly don’t deserve quality programming; they don’t deserve news unless they’re willing to pay for streaming services and cable; they don’t deserve entertainment for their children to help them develop and grow.

But we can fight back.

If you believe in an entire country of people — not just the ones who can afford it — having access to arts and culture, to history and documentaries, to trusted news reports and educational programming, consider donating to PBS.

There are a million different ways to do it. And if you think about all the things the Trump administration and like-minded politicians and legislators have tried to squash for America over the last decade, then you’ll realize how important this is. If books can be banned, if schools can incorporate religion, if PBS can be defunded… where can people go? Where can families learn? Where can they absorb information — accurate, important information — safely?

You can also call your representatives. But honestly, at this point, we need to just be loud as hell about public broadcasting, and we need to make people realize what they’re actually doing when they endorse this kind of buffoonery.

So if you really want to help public broadcasting, it’s time to get uncomfortable. Ask the people in your life who want to defund PBS to get detailed. Tell them you want to see the specific piece of “left-wing propaganda” Big Bird shared.

Chances are, they won’t have one. Or the propaganda will be something like Super Why! being too “woke” for them, or that in a documentary about slavery, nobody made sure to make you feel sorry for the white people.

This has never been about budgets. This is about pure misery and hateful people and control.

Make them tell you that out loud.