By Kira Zalan
Television has long been used to push social agendas, and Norman Lear, a television writer and producer, addressed the social and political issues of the day in his 1970s sitcoms, including All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and Good Times. Concerned by what he saw as the rise of the “Christian right” influence on American society and politics, in 1981 Lear launched an organization called People for the American Way. The progressive advocacy group just celebrated 30 years. Lear, who is turning 90 next year, recently spoke with U.S. News about the changes he’s seen in American politics, why Hollywood tends to be liberal, and the projects he is working on now. Excerpts:
Is America divided today?
More divided. And more divided along the same lines that concerned me 30 years ago.
Can you be more specific?
Religion in the public square. More of it now than existed then. I was amused at first with Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. What I was seeing on TV, the proliferation of evangelicals and so forth. And as I saw more and more the mix of politics and religion, I became far more concerned.
Why were you concerned?
Well, it’s not my understanding of what the Constitution and the Bill of Rights do. There is a wall of separation. This is not a Christian nation, this is a nation open to all religions. Now that’s my understanding of the Constitution. That is why I flew 52 missions in World War II.
So you used media to challenge the evangelicals?
I did what I knew to do best, which is do a couple of TV spots and use the media I knew. And the first TV spot had a working guy simply telling the camera that he and his wife and his kids just sitting around the kitchen table argue all the time about politics and they all have different views. And here come ministers on TV and radio, and even in the mail, and telling them they’re good Christians or bad ones, depending on their political point of view. Anyway, he winds up saying, there’s got to be something wrong when anyone tells you, even if it’s a minister, that you are a good or a bad Christian depending on your political point of view. And then the last thing he says is, “That’s not the American way.” And so People for the American Way came out.
What is your single biggest victory?
It isn’t the biggest victory, but one that occurred to me was defeating Robert Bork as a nominee [by President Reagan] to the Supreme Court. And what makes me laugh is that he was chosen by Governor [Mitt] Romney to be the head of his judicial committee. So it is funny, all these years later.
What is your take on the GOP presidential candidates?
I have a long correspondence with President Reagan, totally in disagreement, on the same subject, by the way—the religious right occupying too much space in the White House, coming and going too easily in the White House, and the influence I was concerned about on him. But we maintained a civility that resulted in a friendship. So you asked me in the beginning what I miss most 30 years later? That degree of civility. I will say too that in 1982, I did a twohour special on ABC called “I Love Liberty,” and it was devised to take the flag and the Bible back, for all of us. It doesn’t just belong to the Christian right, it belongs to all of us. And I had Barry Goldwater and Jane Fonda on the same stage, and President Ford and Lady Bird Johnson were my co-chairs. So it’s possible in our country to have a degree of civility that allows you to be bitter enemies politically but respectful. I mean you can disagree totally on political issues and still maintain a relationship of respect.
What is the most urgent challenge today?
I would say helping people understand that this country thrives when it hears from its citizens, whether they’re agreeing or protesting, when they are participating, and when they are unfettered by religious doctrines that insist that they can’t vote their conscience this way or that because it isn’t agreeable to the church.
What’s your take on the Occupy Wall Street protests?
I take them very seriously. That’s an awful lot of people around the world distressed. Attention must be paid. I very much value the fact that it exists because people are expressing themselves. And isn’t that what we’re supposed to be about?
What is their message?
The message coming through for me is “we are distressed.” I mean, do we have to explain to you we’re not working, our homes are being foreclosed? You know, come on, how much do we have to tell you?
Which TV shows today push the social envelope?
I think South Park does a great job. As does Family Guy. It’s amazing, it’s the animated shows that seem to be doing 90 percent of that in comedy.
Is Hollywood a liberal town?
I think writers, directors, producers, people who are holding up a mirror to, or looking into the nature of people, or humans as a species, tend to be liberal, tend to be progressive. Look, I think of myself as a bleeding-heart conservative. You know, you will not screw with my Bill of Rights and my Constitution. I’m conservative on these issues. But do I care about the next guy and the people that don’t have equal opportunity? Call me a bleeding heart. But Democrats per se do not represent what I feel today. I’m much more a bleeding heart in that sense and much more conservative in the other sense.
Have Democrats moved too much to the center?
Yeah, I think the center is bullshit. The center is: I don’t want to tell you who I am. Most people think that America is too ideologically divided today. I don’t think there’s a Democratic Party that’s proud of saying, “I’m on the left.” Like that’s a nasty word. And we’ve begun to believe that it is nasty. And “progressive” and “liberal.” The far right has done a very good job of forcing Democrats to abandon who they are.
How are these labels seen today?
We’re made to believe that they’re bad words. Now aligned in the public mind with a socialist. And a liberal is far from a socialist. Or maybe they’re not far from a socialist, but what the hell is bad about a socialist? It’s another way of thinking. That’s what we’re supposed to be all about, just another way of thinking.
How has President Obama done?
I had hoped he would help us look in the mirror, all of us, and see our own humanity. And help us understand that the lust for power, greed, you know, all of that is part of our human nature. So is transcendence. We are born with the capacity for both.
What is your organization up to today?
There are three things about it that couldn’t excite me more. Right Wing Watch, they’re on the Internet, a great publication. Another is Young Elected Officials. There are over 700, close to 800, young mayors, councilmen, a fabulous network of progressive, idealistic young people. And then there’s Young People For, they’re all in high school and college. And I take great hope from what’s happening with them.
7 U.S.NEWS WEEKLY | October 21, 2011 | www.usnews.com/subscribe
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment