{"id":9363,"date":"2017-05-07T17:49:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-07T21:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/?p=9363"},"modified":"2017-05-09T19:39:04","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T23:39:04","slug":"strangest-thing-ive-watched-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2017\/05\/strangest-thing-ive-watched-years.html","title":{"rendered":"The strangest thing I’ve watched in years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

So last\u00a0night we were relaxing. \u00a0Long couple of weeks. \u00a0No particular plans, we enjoyed a glass of wine and skipped through the channels to see what might be on. \u00a0Which, when it comes to television nowadays, probably wouldn\u2019t be much.<\/p>\n

Anyway, we came across and old episode of Johnny Carson interviewing Jack Anderson at the height of the Watergate scandal (the pertinent interview begins after the 30:00 mark):<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RUpncD_hbXc<\/p>\n

Wow, it was like watching two mature adults discuss an important subject in America\u2019s history. \u00a0They show restraint. \u00a0They show respect. \u00a0They speak of other politicians, like Truman, with respect. \u00a0They give their opinions and get a few laughs. \u00a0But on the whole, it was like two mature adults discussing the monumental events with respect and restraint.<\/p>\n

Oh, lest anyone say, \u2018But that\u2019s an interview Dave, how about the jokes!\u2019, here is a sampler of Carson taking on Watergate five years later:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0pRdE1ApqOA<\/p>\n

Compare to the same forty years later (warning, language and content):<\/p>\n

<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stephen Colbert Takes The Gloves Off: Hillary's Email Scandal\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KjMS50yH024?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Of course I know we had others back then: Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce (passed away a decade earlier, but still cutting edge for his time), George Carlin. \u00a0But this was the flagship comedy show of the era, and the one most in line with America\u2019s basic\u00a0character of the day. \u00a0Like him or hate him, most would have identified with Carson\u2019s ways with\u00a0the issue. \u00a0Hence his popularity and influence.<\/p>\n<p>You might say this is all because of Trump. \u00a0But the million dollar question is, could it be that Trump is really all because of this? \u00a0That we had already arrived at the state we\u2019re at long before Trump, c 2015? \u00a0That somewhere, we decided acting like a nation of adolescents in a locker room was the best way to tackle the issues of the day?\u00a0 Every time I see our President, I\u2019m reminded of the consequences of that development.<\/p>\n<p>FWIW, I know this is a very subjective observation on my part. \u00a0I know people will argue down to the minutiae how it was no different in the 70s, or it doesn\u2019t matter, or a <em>Debbie Does Dallas<\/em> society can still demand an\u00a0<em>Ozzie and Harriet<\/em> president. \u00a0I also get that this is a broad point to hang on a single example. \u00a0I get that. \u00a0I simply note an approach to one of the worst political scandals in our country\u2019s history and compare it to how the adults of our country are handling things today. \u00a0I can\u2019t help but think there is a bigger lesson than the development of comedy in America in the last 50 years.<\/p>\n<p>Others might disagree. \u00a0But that\u2019s how I see it. \u00a0I still hold to my sons\u2019 observation that Trump is the president that our modern FB generation deserves. \u00a0Whether we decide the price is\u00a0too high to continue as we have, or we decide it just opens up more possibilities to get what we want, remains to be seen. \u00a0Altogether though, some sad TV viewing for a chilly Derby Day night.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So last night we were relaxing. Long couple of weeks. No particular plans, we enjoyed a glass of wine and skipped through the channels to see what might be on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":9374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,27],"tags":[85],"class_list":["post-9363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-musings","category-social-observations","tag-social-observations"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>The strangest thing I've watched in years<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So last night we were relaxing. Long couple of weeks. 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