News & Views

Well it's a good thing Vice President Biden likes watching the Tee Vee because apparently watching Will & Grace has made him way more open-minded about same-sex marriage.

Yesterday on Meet the Press, he said he was "totally comfortable" with same sex marriage. And he gives credit to the popular show for changing society's attitudes in America: "I think Will & Grace did more to educate the American public more than almost anything anybody has done so far. People fear that which is different. Now they're beginning to understand." So ... great! And ... oh brother.

So it's heartening to think that television can have that kind of positive influence on people. (Unless you think homosexuality is evil, in which case this is just other example of how American media is going to hell in a perky teal Jonathan Adler hand basket.) They say that people become more accepting of homosexuality in general when they actually know a gay person. And, um, I guess that includes the people we know on TV?

I think Will & Grace should get credit for bravely getting homosexuality out of the closet and onto prime time TV. But let's give some credit to the millions of individuals who have taken a bigger, scarier risk and come out to their friends and families.

Did Will & Grace really do more to educate the American public than anything else? I'm not saying Biden is wrong about that. I mean, who knows? Maybe it's true. I'm just wondering what that says about us -- that we learn our biggest life lessons from television! Because if that's so, then I fear for all those Game of Thrones fans out there.

But I do agree with Biden when he says it all comes down to "who do you love." More than the W&G shout-out, I like the story Biden tells right after about meeting a gay couple and their loving children. Because it's experiences like that moment that I think have an even more profound effect on us than television. So Biden, he's kind of a goofball, bless his soul. But at least his heart's in the right place.

Which do you think has a greater influence on you, television or people you know in real life?

Images via NBC, ThinkProgress/YouTube