I have been asked by a large multitude of readers (1) why I am rehashing the works of a redneck, gay basher, sexist, racist, southerner and bearer of “political incorrectness” who died in 1994.
The answers are simple: (1) he was extremely funny and candid; and (2) in America the First Amendment gives (up to now) citizens the right to express their sentiments and viewpoints on almost any subject or topic as long as it doesn’t advocate the “violent overthrow of our government.” (Stay tuned for January 6, 2021, political updates in 2022 and 2024)
I have to admit that I laugh at the humor of Lewis Grizzard, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Maher, Jeff Foxworthy, Jeff Dunham, Richard Pryor, David Chappelle and Carol Burnette, etc.
because they are funny even if they offend the Speech Police.
By the way the Speech Police previously included newspaper writers William Randolph Hearst (Citizen Kane prototype) and H. L. Mencken (Scopes trial) and many others who wanted to influence the minds of our citizens.
The latest of the 25 books that L.G. wrote prior to his untimely death which I have read and laughed in the process is “I Haven’t Understood Anything Since 1962” (and Other Nekkid Truths)!”
It was written in 1992 and published by Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc. and a copy can be found at the usual used bookstores and website sources.
LG names the Speech Police membership according to his personal interpretation:
(1)New York Times (NYT) and The Washington Post (WP);
(2)Television networks (now updated to include cable news networks of Fox News, CNN, etc.)
(3)Editors of other newspapers that share the positions of the NYT and WP;
(4)Spokespersons for organization that NYT and WP think have been bashed;
(5)Call for boycotts and protests by those in #4 that claim they have been mistreated as they explain on their signs and radio and television interviews;
(6)Liberal thinkers in fields of religion or education;
(7)Ministers of various religious faiths and sects; and
(8)Activists
In the Introduction and Chapter 1 of the aforementioned book (32) pages LG discusses the topics and subjects listed in the 1992 book herein referred to in this article and he also discusses his personal experiences with the Speech Police.
I do not ask you to accept or reject his viewpoint on the “subject of political correctness” some thirty (30) years ago and its application to the present.
The added benefit that you get from buying, borrowing, or stealing (popular topic on its own today) a copy is the humor that you will receive in the rest of the 288 printed pages that are filled with many laughs and trips down memory lane by the older generation (and exposure to the younger one.)
The book cover describes a little of Lewis Grizzard’s life in 1962.
“I had a pretty, blond girlfriend. The best thing on television was Gunsmoke. Miss Kitty was a good businessperson, but she wasn’t pushy and could accept a compliment from a man without charging him with sexual harassment.”
(Could he have survived as a columnist in 2022?)
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You can reach Jerry Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com)