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On January 12, 1971, 40 years ago this week, one of the greatest and most influential shows ever on television debuted on CBS.  All in the Family, the story of the stereotypically New York Archie Bunker, Edith, Gloria and ultra-liberal son-in-law, Mike, ran for 9 seasons and inspired several successful spin-offs (The Jeffersons, Maude, then Good Times).  Like many of my peers, I grew up watching the show, and creator Norman Lear no doubt shaped my opinions of social change and national events of the times.
 
Archie was a bigot, but he was a lovable one.  His views on race, politics, and society in general were laid bare each week for 30 minutes of mockery.  You could love Archie, but reject his politics. Deep down, you know he loved his country, his wife, his God, and especially his chair.  And that was endearing.

Archie was dismissive of anyone who disagreed with his world view, but his heart was usually in the right place.  He was comically misinformed, but he did understand the basic building block of the American experiment:  love your country.  He was a proud veteran of the second World War, or as he liked to say, “The Big One, WWII.”

He was an enigma.  He espoused a pro-business stance on the issues, even as his livelihood depended on his card-carrying union membership.  He was a curmudgeon who hated long hair on men, yet accepted Mike Stivic into his home.  He tried to understand the black experience through his indelicate, yet innocent questions to Lionel Jefferson, his neighbor’s son, and his questions revealed his deep-seeded biases.  He was full of bluster but with underlying insecurities never too far from the surface.   Archie above all wanted to stop progress because change scared him.
 
How does Archie look to us today through the lens of history?  Would Archie be a Tea Party patriot?  Probably.  Just like Archie, there are Tea Partiers singing “We could use a man like Herbert Hoover again” - familiar, safe, reliably pro-business, conservative, and ultimately a failure.

The same kind of fear that gave life to the Archie character still exists today – fear of the unknown, fear of people who are different, fear of losing a job.  In the face of that fear, he lashed out at others, usually by yelling, and that same pattern exists today.  Fear manifests itself in strange ways, even when the fear is justifiable.

In the same way that we recognize the humanity in Archie, I hope that we can see the underlying humanity in our political opposition more often.  It could only help.
 
Those Were the Days - All in the Family Theme Song

Boy the way Glenn Miller played
Songs that made the hit parade
Guys like us we had it made
Those were the days

And you knew who you were then
Girls were girls and men were men
Mister we could use a man
Like Herbert Hoover again

Didn't need no welfare state
Everybody pulled his weight
Gee our old LaSalle ran great
Those were the days

Editor’s Note:  If the show were still on today, Mike could be played by Michael Moore and James Gandofini could be casted as Archie.  I’d tune in for that.  Who would you cast?  Suggestions welcome.