The thing I find most disturbing about this segment is not the recognition that The Andy Griffith Show portrayed only a part of the reality of small town South as it was for white folk in the 50s and 60s but not for everyone there, which was certainly not a fantasy, but that so many of the people interviewed who were longing for that reality to be true again had indulged in the very different fantasies regarding the former President as a guardian of the truth and the reality Andy Griffith’s show portrayed, and also of the fantasy that he was cheated out of the presidency, which is frankly not even remotely true. As Dan Quayle recently pointed out to Mike Pence, there was no significant fraud in Arizona (and for that matter elsewhere) and as he said, ‘I should know, I live there.’ One last thing, Andy Griffith was a committed Christian, and yes indeed that show portrayed some Christian values about honesty, kindness, love, respect for authorities like the police, truth in general, which has nothing in common with con men and politicians who play on the fears of people to get elected and insight attacks on our own capitol building.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In