I don’t wish to take issue with what’s been said about the condition of Britain. It can’t pain many people more than it pains me. But remember, this has infected the mainstream everywhere in the West for some time and is being ceaselessly exported and reprocessed. I lived in Toronto on and off in the 70s and 80s. In the 1980s WKRP in Cincinnati, already in sindication, was one of the most popular shows on tv in both the US and Canada. It also enjoyed a considerable critical reputation. I remember KRP fondly (it was a good show); I’ve also remembered an episode which has left a bad taste in my mouth to this day. Does this seem familiar to anyone – thematically, at least:
Meanwhile here’s ‘Five Minutes’ on the BBC with Peter Hitchens, showing that there are still a few traditional voices with a popular following in the mainstream:
It may not be much, but it lifted my spirits somewhat; something those of us who remain require from time to time.
Robert,
I remember WKRP as a good show. I hadn’t seen the episode with the clip you attached, but I know that if I had, I would have been offended by it. (Why is it that whenever media wants to portray what they think of as a “bigot”, the character *always* has a southern accent? The show, as I recall, was set in Cincinnati.) Missing from the little dialogue is the bald fact that “Imagine” is an idea which does exactly what the hero charged the “bigot” with: it disallows ideas contrary to itself. The irony is palpable.
Hitchens is predictably articulate.
My comment on your post must have gone up in sacrifice to the gods of cyberspace, Robert, though I got the “thank you” that’s supposed to indicate a successful attempt.
As best I remember, I pointed out that it seems whenever media wants to portray a “bigot”, they give the character a southern accent. WKRP was set in Cincinnati, but everybody knows all bigots are southerners.
The “good guy” (the one without the accent) points out that the song is an idea; the irony is that he doesn’t see that the idea would disallow any other idea.