In 1971, writer-producer Norman Lear created television’s first sympathetic gay character, Archie’s friend on “All in the Family.” By 1975, “Hot L Baltimore” featured TV’s first gay couple as regular characters. Lear also founded People for the American Way and authored “Even This I Get to Experience.”
Are you surprised it’s taken 40 years for the Supreme Court to address same-sex couples?
Considering the entire Judeo-Christian ethic took two thousand years to reach this point, 40 years might not seem so long. However, it’s undeniably too long when it comes to achieving justice. Do I believe “All in the Family” was a game-changer? I’d be foolish to think my little half-hour episodes made a monumental impact. Yet, the show highlighted societal thoughts and started crucial conversations. Network executives often claimed the American public wasn’t ready for such topics. But those who say “no” are answering to layers of higher-ups. In reality, American audiences possess common sense. They recognize the context within a piece of entertainment.
Your bumper sticker says, “Just another version of you.”
I’m immensely proud of that phrase. It encapsulates everything. Our culture has become excessively self-serious, often seeing itself as divinely chosen. However, God’s chosen is the entire human species, along with every other species. We are all merely versions of one another.
Tell us about People for the American Way.
A fair society hinges on understanding the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the First Amendment, which are designed to protect everyone. Whether it’s two people of the same sex buying a wedding cake or appearing on that cake, it boils down to equal opportunity under the law, ensuring no one is more privileged than anyone else. The core question is always: What is fair here? When I attended public school, civics was a key part of our education. We learned to value our constitutional guarantees and the promises yet to be fulfilled. This isn’t about wearing an American-flag pin; it’s about understanding the vision of the Founding Fathers. Unfortunately, with budget cuts, civics was one of the first subjects to be eliminated, even before music and the arts, which nourish our spiritual lives and our need for connection.
Every individual matters in the grand scheme of things. On a planet among billions, can you truly measure the importance of Jonas Salk versus the person who parked your car this morning? Not in the grand scheme of things. Each of us matters, all of us.
