Pat Boone, Satan's tool?

Timothy Martinelli	On-line Forty-Niner
March 5, 1997

The latest quirky event in American popular culture is centered upon a one time teen idol, a man seen in his day as the wholesome alternative to the shameful Elvis Presley.

Pat Boone was actually quite big as a singer once and though his career peaked long ago, he has managed to stay in the public eye all these years.

The wholesome part was apparently no act. Boone stayed married to the same woman, raised a family and preached conservative Christian values over the years.

Which bring us to recent events. For some reason only Pat Boone knows, he has brought out an album of old rock tunes he calls "heavy metal."

He then appeared at one of those constantly occurring awards programs, that people in the entertainment industry are so fond of, wearing a leather outfit and sporting fake tattoos.

This was too much to endure for many viewers of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, where Boone has had a program in recent years. The Elders of said network consequently pulled the plug on Boone's show.

There has been concern in recent years concerning the political power on the Christian right, which the audience of TBN could be included. There was talk of them taking over school boards and city councils and changing the face of American government from the bottom up.

It is now possible to conclude that these fears were overstated. If the good people of Christian television-land cannot tolerate even Pat Boone, their appeal to the electorate must be quite narrow.

These folks seem to have skipped over some things in the Good Book while sitting in front of their TV sets, stuff like, "judge not, and be not judged." They were probably searching for a passage condemning fake tattoos.

Then there is the other alternative, what if Boone is really working for the Prince of Darkness? He would probably have included "Sympathy for the Devil" on his latest release, but if you play the first song on the album backwards ... well you know.