It is through laughter and humour that lessons are most easily taught

When Norman Lear died last week, the world did not just lose a brilliant writer, television producer and creative genius, but also a great teacher. Through programs such as All In The Family, The Jeffersons, Maude and others, Lear taught us to not only laugh at ourselves but also at those people who are inherently racist, bigoted and narrow-minded.

He showed us, with comedy — occasionally caustic comedy — just how foolish these individuals look. During the 1970s, he opened our eyes to the many ways people could be hurt and insulted that were just part of our society at the time.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Don't have an account? Create Account

It should bother us that in the various tributes to Lear, many stations blocked some of the most humorous examples of racial bigotry because they were trying to be politically correct. This was wrong — the point of Lear’s shows was to show how ridiculous racists,........

© Ottawa Citizen