Given the number of "how Moonlight has changed my life for the better" posts I keep running across I find it ironic that anyone could question our willingness to try and save the show (or for that matter how CBS could cancel it in the first place). Some of the following is a rough draft excerpt from yet another letter I'm composing for the various networks in the hope that Moonlight will continue to shine on.
Why do we do it? With all the headline grabbing disasters happening why do fans continue to fight for a show that some label violent and offensive? Aren't there larger issues that should concern us? May be that's the point. With out trying to minimize the near unimaginable pain and suffering experienced by so many, it seems as if there is always a 'disaster du jour' that should be occupying our resources. Yet by their very scope, one of the main emotions engendered by such events is one of extreme hopelessness. Can one person make a difference? Will a check to an aid agency make an immediate effect? Can a letter change a regime's mind? Will expressing one's sympathy really aid those whose lives have been destroyed? All worthwhile activities, and all part of the larger generosity I've noticed among Moonlight fans, but still far removed from most of our everyday lives. Perhaps by also fighting for a show that brings a bit of hope and happiness into our normal lives we can cause a 'ripple effect' to help the world as a whole. Too much to ask you say? Well, last I heard the pints of blood that were donated in Moonlight's name were no less effective in alleviating suffering and saving lives than those that did not go to save a vampire. Our checks to charities were not returned because our generosity was occult inspired.
In an age of instant news, but not instant recovery, it is nice to be able to feel that one person can make a difference. Moonlight has helped many of us through some tough times, inspired poetry and writing, infused our lives with possibilities and opened us up to a range of 'what ifs'. What if love really could overcome all? What if a hero could be the most unlikely of people? What if labels do not define you? What if the passion aroused by one TV show could infuse our everyday lives? Can you truly expect the gifts Moonlight has given us to fade away? Moonlight fans do not just channel their resources and emotions into just one show. It is our ability to feel and identify so strongly with fictional characters that allow us to face each day knowing that one person can indeed make a difference. That our fights, for whatever we believe in, will only enrich the world around us.
So use your passion, your anger, your hope that you can improve the world to do so. Start with saving a show, planting a tree, donating time and money to charity, recycling what you'd normally throw out, adopting an animal, mentoring/feeding/aiding those who need help. Make a difference one small step at a time. External validation or not, instant gratification or not, you are making a difference!