On Wednesday night, the annual national correspondents dinner was held in Washington, D.C. This event is a gathering of the mainstream media and some of the nation’s top politicians, who those correspondents either praise or lambast daily, depending on which side of the aisle they’re on. Because of his plummeting poll numbers and the media’s determination to keep them plummeting, President Bush should have skipped this event, but he attended this dinner, as he always does. He poked fun at himself by noting that former President Clinton wrote a lengthy memoir after his presidency ended, and President Bush said he’s thinking about doing a memoir of his own, perhaps a popup book. That line was supposed to amuse the members of the White House press corps, who keep telling us daily that Bill Clinton was smart and George Bush is an idiot. I believe this president is overly gracious to his domestic sworn enemies, and I think he should find something else to do instead of attending next year’s national correspondence dinner. But his inclination toward self-deprecating humor in the face of his critics doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the dinner’s other notable incident, which was reported on by Thursday’s Los Angeles Times.
NBC news anchor Brian Williams, along with Cheryl Gould, Senior Vice President of NBC news and two comedians participated in a skit aimed at Vice President Cheney’s 2006 hunting accident, which has now become the most overly discussed accident in the history of mankind. At the end of the skit, Mr. Williams reportedly was burping to the tune of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” To be fair, Brian Williams was recruited for this skit, which makes him slightly (but only slightly) less guilty than its originator. Also, I have not been able to find a video or audio clip of this skit, and my reaction to it might be a little bit different if I could view it in context, instead of just reading about it.
I would not mind if Brian Williams burped out a rendition of the old “things go better with Coke” commercial. After all, the carbonation in Coke tends to make people burp. But “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” can’t be compared to an advertising jingle. To understand what Brian Williams did, one has to read the lyrics to the song’s six verses, which I am reproducing below, as follows:
“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally …let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.”
Burping this hymn is tragic and sacrilegious, but it is not amusing. Obviously, this Civil War hymn is about Jesus. If it were about Mohammed, Brian Williams would by now have been added to the Salman Rushdie death list, and he probably would have gone into hiding somewhere. I’m certainly not advocating anyone’s execution over a comedic skit, but I think Christians ought to loudly insist on an apology. Unfortunately, they won’t. Perhaps they’re not well-informed, or they are sleeping through their Sunday morning sermons, and they will allow this outrageous mocking of their faith to continue publicly without even a whimper of disapproval. Shame on them. I’m going to send my comments to NBC, where they will blissfully ignore them, because I am part of a very small minority who cares.
I have absolutely no animosity toward Brian Williams or anyone else at NBC. But whether they believe it or not, I wish they understood the impact of the four gospels, and the Bible in general, on civilization and on the hearts of millions of individuals. More than that, I believe the Prince of Peace will reappear on earth at a time of his own choosing to raise the living and the dead. On that day, Brian Williams will be a very unfortunate creature if Jesus Christ is steamed at him. Brian Williams and Cheryl Gould would do well to reconsider and issue a public apology for this episode.
