Postcards from Buster
Wisconsin rocks! And here’s why. . .
PBS Kids airs a show called “Postcards from Buster.” The premise of the show is that Buster, a cartoon rabbit, he’s also on “Arthur“, travels to different places throughout the country. He learns all sorts of interesting stuff, and meets new people. The people and places Buster interacts with are real, not cartoon. The show is designed to help kids understand and appreciate the rich and varied cultures that make up the United States. I have never actually watched the show, but I have heard very good things about it.
Last week the US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings condemned the episode entitled “Sugartime!” because it features two lesbian couples and their children. The episode is about the children and their lives in rural Vermont – they take Buster to see how maple syrup is made, how cows are milked on a dairy farm, and to a traditional ‘mud season’ bonfire to celebrate the coming of spring. They are being raised in a loving and supportive home, in a rural American community rich with experience for children. However, because of Spelling’s statement many PBS stations have decided not to run the episode. However there are about 25 stations that are going to run the “Sugartime!” episode. And Wisconsin Public Television one of them.
It really makes me happy to know that there are people out there who have open minds and are not afraid of anything that goes against the “norm.” I think that it is very important for children, and adults for that matter, to be exposed to many different cultural experiences. It is through these experiences that children and adults become well rounded, intelligent, accepting individuals.