TV legend Norman Lear gives 6 strong opinions about American life

[Geee]

Entertainment Weekly:

Legendary TV producer Norman Lear stopped by the Televisison Critics Association’s press tour in Beverly Hills to promote an upcoming PBS documentary covering his career that’s set to debut next year. But what seemed to most impress reporters was the 93-year-old’s opinionated tangents, covering politics, TV, America and mindfullness. Below are six highlights from a press conference with the creator of hits like All in the Family, The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time:

 

— On politics: “Everybody knows me to be a progressive or a liberal or lefty or whatever. I think of myself as a bleeding-heart conservative. You will not f— with my Bill of Rights, my Constitution, my guarantees of political justice for all. But does my heart bleed for those who need help and aren’t getting the justice that the country promises them and the equal opportunity the country promises? Yes. I’m a bleeding heart, but I think myself to be a total social conservative. The people who are running just don’t seem to have America on their minds, not the America I think about. When I was a kid we were in love with America. As early as I can remember, there was a civics class in my public school. And I was in love with those things that guaranteed freedom before I learned that there were people who hated me because I was Jewish. I had a Bill of Rights and a Constitution, those words out of the Declaration that protected me. And I knew about that because we had civics in class. We don’t have that much in the country anymore. So before World War II or shortly after, we were in love with America because we understood what it was about and that’s what we were in love with. I believe everybody’s patriotic today. Everybody loves America. But I don’t need their flag plans to prove it. I’d like to go back to civics lessons.”

[Valin]

@Geee

 

Like his Attitude.

 

 

I believe everybody’s patriotic today. Everybody loves America.

 

This may be true, but many people have a strange way of showing/expressing it.

 

 

 

On the Golden Age of television: “I think this is the Golden Age. I understand what the Golden Age was when I was coming into television, and it was those years of Playhouse 90 and Philco Playhouse. But there’s great drama and some great comedy on television today. I can’t see it all.”

 

 

"90% of everything is crap"

Theodore Sturgeon

That said there were some very good things being done back in the day. Today also. The Shield comes to mind, Very well written, acted, it should be noted also pretty depressing. In that there are basically no good guys in the show, only different shades of bad guys.

 

 

 

On excess: “Our greatest export in America is excess. We are so excessive. There is so much to watch, so much to buy, so much they’re selling. I wish they would sell the value of the country as hard as they sell the rest of it.”

 

Maybe Excess is a part of our values. Moderate people don't leave everything they've ever known travel halfway across the world to start over. Could it be Excess is part of our genetic makeup?

[Geee]

@Valin - just thought it was interesting to read the views of a supposed well known liberal?

[Valin]

@Valin - just thought it was interesting to read the views of a supposed well known liberal?

 

Thing is, in politics, we are dealing with people, and that means things get real complicated real fast. There is a saying in Hebrew studies (H/T Dennis Prager I paraphrase) You should strive to make your opponents argument better than they can.

 

The problem is very many on the Left don't seriously look at what we on the Right say....that's assuming they look at all, much easier to read what the NY Times says we say.

[Geee]

 

@Valin - just thought it was interesting to read the views of a supposed well known liberal?

 

Thing is, in politics, we are dealing with people, and that means things get real complicated real fast. There is a saying in Hebrew studies (H/T Dennis Prager I paraphrase) You should strive to make your opponents argument better than they can.

 

The problem is very many on the Left don't seriously look at what we on the Right say....that's assuming they look at all, much easier to read what the NY Times says we say.

 

Just found it interesting that some of his liberal ideas were not all that liberal. As you said, some people don't look at what the Right say - when they do, they find that they are not all that liberal either. I found this to be true with some of my nieces and nephews.

[Valin]

Geee

 

 

 

No Tea Party Member he. We're talkin Hard Core Red Diaper Baby.

 

 

The Dreyfuss Initiative

 

Our Mission

The Dreyfuss Civics Initiative is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to revive the teaching of civics in American public education to empower future generations with the critical-thinking skills they need to fulfill the vast potential of American citizenship.

[Geee]

Geee

 

 

 

No Tea Party Member he. We're talkin Hard Core Red Diaper Baby.

 

 

The Dreyfuss Initiative

 

Our Mission

The Dreyfuss Civics Initiative is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to revive the teaching of civics in American public education to empower future generations with the critical-thinking skills they need to fulfill the vast potential of American citizenship.

I've seen him being interviewed about this. Good project!