In the late 1970s, my mother, who is more liberal than Ted Kennedy and Rosie O’Donnell put together, sat me in front of the television to watch a show called All In The Family. It was the episode where Archie got stuck in an elevator with a pregnant Puerto Rican woman and her husband, along with a black businessman. I was still a kid and couldn’t help laughing at the ignorant racial statements Archie was making.

It’s not that I agreed with him, but as I explained to my mom, Archie had the “guts” to say what he actually felt. Instead of berating my opinion, my mom asked me to put myself in the Puerto Rican man’s shoes. “Do you like it when people make fun of you at school for being so short?” she questioned. I realized she had a point. Even though I was young, I also realized that the character Archie was created to show how people who have likeable qualities could be ignorant. We watched several episodes together and after each one, I had to explain how Archie was wrong and how his words could have hurt others.

All In The Family was a gutsy, relevant show which aired from 1971-1979 and brought discussions on racism, homophobia, women’s lib, etc. right into the household. Moralists objected while realists praised the show’s exposition of issues people would rather not deal with. My most vivid television memory was watching the episode where a swastika was painted on the Bunkers' front door. At the time, I lived in Skokie, Illinois, which was famous for the Nazi marches during the 1970s.

The swastika in this episode was obviously aimed at another neighbor’s door. An activist showed up and I remember that he wanted to react with violence. I remember thinking, “Is this guy any better than the person who put the swastika up on the door?” I remember him leaving, getting in his car, and hearing an explosion. I remember the look of horror on the Bunkers' faces. I couldn’t hold back tears as my mother held me. “There is a lot of bad in this world, but there is just as much good,” she whispered. I was so scared that I slept in her room that night.