The Pitch and The Veil

I was watching the PBS news hour last night and in the middle of the newscast they interrupted the litany of world and national items for a pitch for money.

Come on…PBS, I know you need funding, but not in the middle of the news. I often get telephone requests in the middle of dinner and I’m on the “Do Not Call” list, but please not in my newscast.

I’d much rather have a fee attached to watching your program than having to listen to a five minute pitch about why I should contribute to keep you on the air. Congress should be far more responsible and fund your bipartisan approach rather than relegate your executives to begging for money.

Another thing that has been lurking in my commentary mind.

Some individuals and some communities and some countries want to prohibit the wearing of headscarves by Muslim women.

There are several types, not just the Burka, which is an almost complete head covering as opposed to the Niqab, Chador, Khimar, Shayla, and the Al-Amira.

Let’s go back more than a few years, even a few centuries. Christian woman were required to wear a veil when they visited a Catholic church. Nuns in various Catholic orders wore black veils or the “Habit.” Yet, no one complained.

The veil is called a Hijab in Arabic. In Spanish it’s called a “velo,” or “Mantilla” in French, “Voile.”

Every culture, every religion, has used the veil as a sign of respect and propriety in following their beliefs.

Let’s put our distrust of another’s customs in the right phylum; not in the one called fear.