That's my headline. Do you know how I feel about this subject? I bet you don't.
"I never said a guy who wears glasses is a queer...I said a guy who wears glasses is a four eyes. A guy who's a fag is a queer."
Do you know who said that? On January 12th, 1971, when I was eight years old, a show debut on CBS was being highly discussed. The show was called, All In The Family. That was forty-two years ago. The show depicted a white working class veteran of "the big one", WW2. He was easily the most openly bigoted character ever to grace the American television viewing audiences. His name was Archie Bunker.
The stars of the show candidly said that they thought, given the topics and especially the tone of the dialogue, that the show would last weeks before it was taken off the air. On April 8th, 1979, after nine seasons of Emmy Award winning television (41 wins and 71 nominations) and an unprecedented run as the #1 show on television, it ended it's decade long dominance of American television.
Was Archie Bunker a hero? Maybe to some, definitely not to others. So, how did that show, that used words like queers, fags, spics, spades, honkies, krauts, slanty-eys and lesbos ever survive the television censors and our cultural sensitivities for nine years? I believe it was for two reasons.
First, it was because Archie Bunker was real. Not a real person, but a real profile of a certain population of America. Second, it's because although Archie was bigoted, the show, with it's flawless empathetical writing, was able to show two perspectives (Archie's and everyone else's) in a way that made you see the point, care about the characters, and laugh a little. The show did NOT tell you what to think. It did, however, provide a very good way to frame how you thought about a subject and decide for yourself.
Those days are long gone. Today, we the people are not allowed to decide for ourselves. It seems like everyone from civil rights groups to human advocacy groups to churches and to our own government is bent on telling us not TO THINK but HOW WE SHOULD THINK. Instead of having a guy like Phil Robertson on the air and letting US decide, there are those that would rather we not hear any opposing opinions, no matter how biased a certain group might feel about it. When Archie Bunker was on the air, we had the ability not to watch. But, we only had three choices. ABC, NBC, or off. Today, if you don't agree with Phil, you have 800 other choices to include DVD, DVR, and the internet. It's so easy to 'not watch' that it's ludicrous to think that a group needs to spend any amount of time or money trying to eliminate the whole perspective from being said at all.
That's what bothers me about the evolution of our society, about our news today and about the attitude that Americans are stupid. If you stop asking Americans to THINK and if you continually tell them how to think, then they absolutely WILL be stupid.
I have spent the better part of my life getting and staying educated. I have made my successes in business by making choices based on information. If you make the wrong choice, you find out quickly. So the best choices are made by using ALL of the information you can get your hands on. The day someone restricts the information I am allowed to have, well, that immediately signals to me that someone has an agenda and at the top of their list is controlling me and my opinion and thoughts. THAT IS WHAT BOTHERS ME ABOUT THIS DUCK DYNASTY ISSUE.
I have a lot of friends who are gay. I have my own opinion on the subject. My opinion has come from my experiences, my reading, my exposure to media, my church...all of them. I have formed my opinion using everything I have heard, and then I thought about it, and then I made a decision. And, should my experiences or information change, I may change my perspective. During the nine year run of All In The Family, many people changed their opinions and positions. Some hardened theirs. But, if that show had been pulled from the air, topics that needed serious thought might not have been considered at all. In the end, it was about trying to present all the information and trusting us to find the answer in our own minds and hearts.
I'm done with the control. The manipulation. The condescension that we, the people, are not smart enough to observe, think and decide what is good for us. I just want to be free again to make my choices using information and news that hasn't been adulterated for someone else's agenda.
Phil Robertson? He should be free to say what he wants. If the people stop watching, the sponsors will pull their money. If the people don't like something, they can watch something far more compelling and thought provoking...like the Kardashians or Fear Factor or 2 Broke Girls or...you get my point. I know you do. I, on the other hand, actually think you are smart.
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