THE GODFATHER OF THE SOCIAL JUSTICE MINDSET

Norman Lear is the iconic television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude. His shows always seemed to favor the left side of the political spectrum. Characters would frequently deal with racism, feminism, poverty and so on. Even now I watch reruns on YouTube and wonder whether any of his characters had a "normal" day where they were not forced to champion social justice causes and the like. Lear never seemed to get off that soap box.

The character of Archie Bunker was probably one of his most well-known inventions. A loudmouth bigot who lived in Queens, New York with too many biases to mention. Not to mention the ceaseless arguments with his son-in-law, Meathead. Archie was meant to be a satirical character, used to highlight the stereotypes that plagued society. It seemed like everything was a political statement with him. 

And then somewhere around the middle of All in the Family's run, a new spinoff was born: The Jeffersons. Now the patriarch (George Jefferson) had racist biases as well, but for some reason that never got the amount of coverage it did in the Bunker household. But anyone who is well-versed with the show has to admit that George Jefferson did not want anything to do with white people whatsoever. And George certainly wasn't portrayed as a simple-minded man like Archie Bunker. He was just a little eccentric, that's all. Now everybody nod in agreement.

Now at age 95, Lear seems to be hanging on for as many seasons as he can. I wonder if he feels a sense of pride for his contribution towards the modern SJW movement, or if he has ever had any second thoughts about the messages he has shoved down our throats for over 40 years. And now the players don't even need a script anymore. Every day is a dress rehearsal for the series finale, where we find out how much of society really lays at our feet, destroyed by the seemingly good intentions of men like Norman Lear.