Posted by
Lucas J. Boy on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 1:50:51 PM
The fine television series 24 has generally done well in withstanding the malignancy of creeping Political Correctness. The show has never been timid when depicting extremist terrorism or the drastic measures that are sometimes required to counter such evil. But, in the finale of the seventh season, the show’s producers lost their resolve, proving that even 24 is not impervious to the subtle lure of insidious PC dogma.
In one of the closing scenes, Jack Bauer is on his deathbed, wrestling with the demons that still taunt him. He has, after all, in the service of protecting his country from unthinkable perils, done things that the more civilized and sensitive among us could never carry out, acts that were often morally reprehensible (such as once executing a friend, Ryan Chappelle, then head of the Counter Terrorism Unit, in order to potentially save the lives of thousands of Americans).
So, as the nerve gas to which he has been exposed slowly steals away his remaining hours, who does Jack reach out to for spiritual comfort, for some sort of absolution? A Catholic priest? A Baptist minister? No. Jack calls upon the Imam from the local mosque. In the context of the storyline, it wasn’t a purely random choice. Jack had earlier aggressively confronted this same Muslim cleric as a link to another Muslim who was suspected to be involved in an imminent terroristic plot. As events unfold, the cleric, initially hostile to his inquisitor, comes to respect Jack Bauer.
It is, therefore, not entirely implausible that Jack would seek out this Muslim as his confessor. But, on the other hand, it would not have been implausible for Jack Bauer to call upon a Christian minister either. Jack’s religious inclinations—if he even has any—have never been revealed. But it’s a safe bet that Jack had never been raised in the Muslim faith. Given his German surname, Jack might very well have been baptized as a Catholic or a Lutheran. Maybe his Christian faith had lapsed. But, when you’re about to cross that final threshold, it’s not inconceivable that you might just want to revisit your own spiritual wellspring and not wade into unfamiliar waters.
In today’s politically correct world, the true evils are Christianity and Judaism. In spite of Islam’s atrocious treatment of women and gays, two of the Left’s most prized victims, this “religion of peace” is tolerated, even coddled, by liberals. (Tolerance is a PC virtue—except when Christians or Jews are in the picture.) Portraying an Evangelical as a buffoon in a sit-com is hilarious. Depicting a Catholic priest as, inevitably, a pedophile is cutting-edge. Scrutinizing a Muslim at an airport is profiling and an outrage.
There’s a chance Jack will survive. His daughter, Kim, is willing to offer her father some of her stem cells. Should we be treated to an eighth season of 24, I wonder if Agent Bauer will now be wearing a kaftan and a kufi prayer cap.