This week’s Boston Legal again took several shots at the George W. Bush administration, especially on the topics of abortion, womens’ rights, Bush’s random out-of-step-ness with society, and our alleged patriarchal approach to foreign policy.

It got me–a Bush-loving Republican–to thinking about two things:

1. This show doesn’t even veil its attempts at taking direct shots at our president every week; and,
2. I really like this show.

How is it that I can tune in week after week to something that is sure to take a direct shot across the bow at the policies of our government? This week it was abortion. Last week it was Tom Delay, corruption, lobbyists, money, and illegial aliens. In other recent weeks, it’s been gun control, victims’ rights, racial profiling, Bush’s serveillance campaign… the list goes one. At some point, the show has blatantly supported just about everything a typical Bible-believing, God-fearing American would stand against: adultery, fornication, homosexuality, polygamy, laziness, and gluttony (and that’s really just for starters!)

And then this week, it hit me: I discovered the answer. I know what makes this show so attractive: civility.

“Boston Legal” manages each week to put our nation’s political issues–as well as its moral ones–on display in the context of humor we can laugh at, relationships we can empathize with, and civil dialogue we can follow. The dramatic absence of anger and bitterness mixes with the presence of humor and love in a way that could create honest discussions of important matters if we’d let it.

There was a day when I could disagree with you and you could disagree with me and it didn’t mean we couldn’t like each other, love each other, fight for causes together, go to church together and raise our families together. Today we are so quick to label each other as red or blue, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, Christian or not… except for a few moments each week when we find ourselves in relationships–or viewing a rogue TV show–where agreement isn’t a prerequisite for civility.

And the spiritual power of personal responsibility and unconditional love can be released there.