I was first introduced to Jerry Falwell in a round about way in an episode of “WKRP in Cincinnati” back in, oh, probably 1979. A great American sit-com centered around a collection of cartoon likenesses of the cartoon characters of the day… Herb Tarluk, the cartoon cut-out of the morally challenged sales guy; Venus Fly Trap, the cartoon cut-out guy from the hood [who actually turned out to be a cartoon cut-out of a successful middle class black jus pretending to be from the cartoon cut-out hood]; Johnny Fever, the cartoon cut-out washed up stoner burnt out cartoon cut-out hippy… [and the Professor and Marian]. On this episode, this cartoon cut-out collection of fine people were being challenged with the loss of advertising revenue after a cartoon cut-out of Jerry Falwell had organized a boycott of companies that advertised on WKRP, companies like the one who made Red Wigglers…
The ever indecisive, lovable old Mr. Carlsen was about to side with the more traditionally meek cartoon cut-outs in his crew, Herb and Les Nessman… After a heated debate with the well groomed cartoon cut-out 80s prototype sensitive man, Andy, he chose to test the cartoon-cut out of Jerry Falwell… He presented the cartoon cut-out of Jerry Falwell with the lyrics to John Lennon’s cartoon like musings… “Imagine”… “Of course we’d put that on our can’t play list”; “Imagine, there’s NO heaven… blasphemy” proclaimed the cartoon cut-out of Jerry Falwell in cartoon cut-out like fashion… Needless to say; the rolly-polly, jolly old cartoon cut-out of everyone’s favorite dad on the block, Mr. Carlsen became determined, NOT to fight the cartoon cut-out of Jerry Falwell; but alas, to simply weather the storm.
I seem to recall this storm amounting to not much more than a short squall that, in the end, outside of slightly helping to blow Ronald Reagan into the White House and a few “flag waving” “Righties” into the legislature; not amounting to very much at all.
If you examine it closely; Ronald Reagan was going to enter the White House one way or another. His collection of an additional 5 to 6 million votes from “Jerry’s silent-moral majority” may have been the push he needed in round one; but did they really have much of an impact on him taking every state outside of Minnesota [or the such] in round two? America was sick of lickin’ it’s chops, and pandering to those who railed around the nations flaws as the Democrats had been doing since Nixon’s little embarrassment. America just wasn’t gonna put Mr. I HATE ISRAEL AND EVERYTHING IT STANDS FOR back into the White House…
I think a lot of people these days fail to see the ebbs and tides of American politics. Sometimes the great political tidal system flows, sweeping Americans up into a grand cause; at other times it ebbs, and FOLLOWS the opinions of the citizenry as they cower away from their responsibilities. Reagan was the swift moving tide this nation needed at a critical time when the crumbling infrastructure of the Soviet Union was about to implode; without a “strong” America; where would the world be? The Soviet system, suffering from the syphilis born from fucking itself for three generations was going to collapse; better to collapse into American arms than into, utter destructive chaos, OR say into the arms of China, or say into a Europe so socialized and confused that most nations couldn’t hold a government for more than three days… except, hmmm… oh ya, right, the Germans.
Blah, blah, blah… my interpretation of history, which remains quite ridiculous, at this point usually results in the accusation of having drunken too many sips from one coolade container or another; lets get back to examining the cartoon cut-out of Jerry Falwell.
It’s really is quite simple, Jerry’s Silent Moral Majority’s hot button issue was abortion; they also liked to railed against what they saw as a tide of homosexuality sweeping across the nation; destroying all that was decent in their extremely narrow perception of what American decency was… In reality, they were a bunch of folks who had been damned right pissed off since Johnson gave away the last broken down chicken coop to the, eh, hem, ni… blacks back in ‘68. The press coverage of the fake-flower-power revolution had confused and fooled them into believing that a revolutionary army made up of a hoard of GAY hippies was about to wash over the nation… They hid their agenda behind the cross, funny enough, pretty much the same way the hippies hid their agenda behind their “two-fingered”, “up yours” peace sign gesture.
The plebeian tribes squabble as the Emperor Monkeys chuckles and takes all the bananas for themselves.
It’s 27 years later; more states not only allow abortions but fund them. Abortions are more available than they ever were in Jerry Falwell’s worst nightmares. The argument the 5% or so of American’s who are gay, is no longer whether they should step out, speak up or surrender for psychological reprogramming; they are no longer the pariah; legislators no longer shudder at the prancing proud army, but rather sit and have relatively reasoned debates over whether or not we should call their couplings a simple civil union, or a marriage. Needless to say; being part of the 5% or so American who call themselves gay is a whole heck-uv-a-lot easier now than it was 25 years ago… or so.
Jerry Falwell’s Silent Moral Majority DID hold some slight bit of sway in the rhetoric of American politics. Through basically what amounts to a scheduling error; they managed to force conservative Presidential politicians to genuflect and swing to the far right for a few months as they headed through the Southern Primary’s on their way to Super Tuesday… This all changes this year with Super-Duper Tuesday being the first and final “Big Stop” on the ticket next year… Note the Republican front runner imploring that government “stay out of American’s personal lives”.
In the end; after the rhetoric, even the most creepy-right-religious of American politicians, supported by Jerry Falwell’s silent moral majority failed to really bend the American tradition, to more or less live and let live all that far from the absolute dead center of the road… where it belongs.
A good American is one who stands up and struggles for what he believes in; if what he believes in matches a significant number of other American’s beliefs; AND if he effectively leads these people, and gets their beliefs an audience before the government of the day he becomes a Great American. Despite what you think, or what I think, approximately 10,000,000 American’s held the same beliefs as Jerry Falwell; and likely many more than 10,000,000 hold extremely similar beliefs. Jerry Falwell got these American’s and their beliefs a hearing… now, that hearing didn’t amount to much; but heck, THAT was not Jerry Falwell’s fault; rather, maybe it is the proof that this system of government does kinda work, kinda.
We live in a country where, over a relatively accessible cable channel, one can now watch a cartoon show depicting small cartoon cut-outs of young children saying “fuck” at least once or twice a season, I saw episode, I think back in ‘05 where a cartoon cut-out likeness of everyone’s favorite cartoon cut-out Paris Hilton is coughing up cartoon cut-out cum every five minutes… Companies like those who make the “Red Wigglers” regularly advertise on our cable channels. Abortion is relatively available; homosexuals can get married in Massachusetts and/or form binding civil unions in many states… The storm, she did blow, but, in the end I think, you, me and the good’n’stoned DOCTOR Johny Fever weathered the storm quite nicely.
I mean, just how moral would you like US to be?
