Falwell Follies: Caught In The Crossfire On CNN.

Recently I was forced by Pat Buchanan on national television to admit that the Charles Manson family was evil and sinful. This astonishing confession came after one of the liveliest television shows I have ever done, a 15th anniversary edition of CNN's "Crossfire," filmed before a live studio audience at George Washington University.

The Rev. Jerry Falwell and I were squared off to discuss the role of religion in American life. Just a few hours before the show, the Southern Baptist Convention had voted to boycott all products and services of the Walt Disney Company. This decision was reached because Disney's business expansion has led to the acquisition of film companies that produce more than strictly G-rated cartoons, including the company that distributed the popular R-rated movie "Pulp Fiction." This has allegedly "sullied" the Disney moniker.

As both co-host Geraldine Ferraro and I pointed out, though, even when Disney makes marvelous family films like "The Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King," the Religious Right finds all kinds of shocking images the rest of us don't see. Did you know that in "The Little Mermaid" a priest is shown in a state of sexual arousal while performing a wedding ceremony? Did you notice the homosexual relationship between a meerkat and a warthog in "The Lion King"? These outlandish charges have become articles of faith in many Religious Right circles. So, the truth is that even when Disney makes features with no human beings, they are still to be pilloried.

Does the Southern Baptist Convention have the right to call for a boycott of Disney movies, ESPN, the Arts and Entertainment Network and every other Disney-related company? Of course. I have no problem with any religious group challenging the moral content of business conduct.

But I worry a great deal when groups that tell us how dangerous and nefarious various programs are approach school boards, state legislatures and Congress and demand ways to remove images and information they dislike. So, although private resolutions opposing images are not technically censorship, they nearly inevitably lead to calls for a governmental "fix" to legislate these decisions. The last thing I'd want to see would be Pat Buchanan, Jerry Falwell and Ralph Reed (since he's looking for work these days) become some sort of "religious censorship board."

Falwell and Buchanan decided to move off "film criticism" after I pointed out that Falwell has been profiting considerably by selling a video called "The Clinton Chronicles" that -- without any evidence -- accused Bill Clinton of being involved in multiple murders and drug-rings. That was real "political pornography," and it was condemned by such leading conservatives as Bill Bennett and former Falwell colleague Cal Thomas.

Buchanan and Falwell moved to a discussion of the Ten Commandments battle in Alabama and how Gov. Fob James had threatened to call out the National Guard to defend a commandments plaque on a local courthouse wall. When they tried to imply that I don't approve of the content of the Commandments, I begged to differ. "As a Christian minister," I insisted, "I'm a big believer in the Ten Commandments. I think we ought to abide by them; I don't think we should play political games with them."

The questions from the audience, during the second half of the show, were quite interesting. One gentleman asked me if Congress shouldn't pass a law to deal with our moral decline. Aghast, I pointed out that I couldn't think of a worse group to handle morals than Congress, but that is exactly why we have temples, churches, synagogues and mosques. (It was comforting when the audience roared its approval.)

Another questioner wondered why the Religious Right doesn't want to acknowledge there are different kinds of people in America. That, it sees, is the heart of the issue. A lot of people don't live in "traditional" families (two parents, two children, one dog and a station wagon) but that doesn't mean they aren't a part of the American community. Why wouldn't television shows and movies depict the mosaic we actually are?

This was when Pat Buchanan roared in with his query on the Manson "family." Yep, I had to admit that that "familial" setting was outside my moral boundaries and we probably don't need to have Manson-like groups living next to Tim Allen on "Home Improvement." Buchanan was delighted by the "admission."

By the end of the show, Falwell was reduced to claiming that I had no morals, that I couldn't get a job in a church and that Bill Clinton has "turned the White House into a brothel." The latter remark produced gasps of shock from the audience, which is exactly why Falwell is properly labeled as an "extremist."

Sometimes even bumper stickers encapsulate the truth. Remember "The Moral Majority Is Neither"? It was right. A majority of people didn't buy into the Falwellian package of personal attacks, censorship and wild-eyed conspiracies. Similarly, they had doubts that these were attributes of genuine "morality."

I'll be standing in line to see Walt Disney's "Hercules" as soon as it opens. (I must admit that I'll go sooner now that the boycott has been called.) Who knows what lurid imagery and subliminal messages I'll pick up? As for Jerry Falwell, I'm not calling for a boycott of his show and products. But I urge you to let your conscience be your guide.

Barry W. Lynn is executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.