toobfreak
Tungsten/Glass Member
I was watching TV the past few days watching reruns of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. One show was from 1982 and the other was 1980. One of them was on Super Tuesday, so on both shows, Carson did a monologue about politics! What was interesting was that during all of it, there was nothing cruel, hateful, decisive or mean spirited. Everything said was in GOOD TASTE meant just to be funny, good spirited, and harmless. There was absolutely nothing that would offend any viewers or suggest he was taking one side over the other. OR ANY SIDE AT ALL.
During the 1982 show, he discussed the Democratic Convention the day before and asked the audience if anyone watched it? And the room was SILENT. As Carson talked about the various candidates, there was nothing PROMOTING them, just well-intended ribbing, with jokes that were obviously pure humor not actually reflecting on their actual lives, and everyone howled.
During the 1980 show, when Carson asked if anyone had watched the GOP convention, the entire room lit up in applause! As Johnny discussed various people, Walter Mondale, Ron Reagan, ect., all the jokes were obviously not taking any real shots, the jokes were based on obvious fiction for the sake of comedy only, and they were all RESPECTFUL OF THE PEOPLE on BOTH sides, with good intentions and no one in the audience yelled out anything divisive, crass, crude, ignorant, hateful or vulgar. Everyone there was there for a good time.
The two parties were treated as a bunch of folks in a room, some with red balloons and the other with blue. The two parties were like a married couple, the GOP arguing for taking the left turn ahead to take the shortest route to the motel while the Dem arguing to take the right turn and see the scenic route. BOTH parties were after the SAME goal, just two different ways of getting there! They sat in the same room, talked, shared ideas and agreed on some things, disagreed on others.
My question is:
Whatever happened to that world? A world where Hollywood actually applauded Republicans and could be lukewarm about democrats?
A world where people could talk politics without being divisive, monopolar, booing, jeering, hateful, mean, cruel, viscous and crude? But actually respect both sides with good will to all?
A world where BOTH parties were seen as the same passengers on the same bus, just sitting in one isle or the other, going to the same destination rather than two groups a million miles apart, one going to Venus, the other Neptune where each saw the other as anti-American, dangerous to the country, and always trying to throw landmines under the other? And none of the candidates were embroiled in heinous scandal.
At what point, when and how did we ever lose a functioning country like that? And whose fault is it, the voters, or the candidates?
. . . . and all I could think is that if Johnny Carson could be alive today, what he would think and the shock he would have to see how our politics in this country, how the incivility has fallen 35 years later.
During the 1982 show, he discussed the Democratic Convention the day before and asked the audience if anyone watched it? And the room was SILENT. As Carson talked about the various candidates, there was nothing PROMOTING them, just well-intended ribbing, with jokes that were obviously pure humor not actually reflecting on their actual lives, and everyone howled.
During the 1980 show, when Carson asked if anyone had watched the GOP convention, the entire room lit up in applause! As Johnny discussed various people, Walter Mondale, Ron Reagan, ect., all the jokes were obviously not taking any real shots, the jokes were based on obvious fiction for the sake of comedy only, and they were all RESPECTFUL OF THE PEOPLE on BOTH sides, with good intentions and no one in the audience yelled out anything divisive, crass, crude, ignorant, hateful or vulgar. Everyone there was there for a good time.
The two parties were treated as a bunch of folks in a room, some with red balloons and the other with blue. The two parties were like a married couple, the GOP arguing for taking the left turn ahead to take the shortest route to the motel while the Dem arguing to take the right turn and see the scenic route. BOTH parties were after the SAME goal, just two different ways of getting there! They sat in the same room, talked, shared ideas and agreed on some things, disagreed on others.
My question is:
Whatever happened to that world? A world where Hollywood actually applauded Republicans and could be lukewarm about democrats?
A world where people could talk politics without being divisive, monopolar, booing, jeering, hateful, mean, cruel, viscous and crude? But actually respect both sides with good will to all?
A world where BOTH parties were seen as the same passengers on the same bus, just sitting in one isle or the other, going to the same destination rather than two groups a million miles apart, one going to Venus, the other Neptune where each saw the other as anti-American, dangerous to the country, and always trying to throw landmines under the other? And none of the candidates were embroiled in heinous scandal.
At what point, when and how did we ever lose a functioning country like that? And whose fault is it, the voters, or the candidates?
. . . . and all I could think is that if Johnny Carson could be alive today, what he would think and the shock he would have to see how our politics in this country, how the incivility has fallen 35 years later.
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