Legendary television producer Norman Lear made a surprising revelation during a Saturday press conference in Beverly Hills, Calif. — he describes himself as a conservative.
The man who’s famous for creating hit shows like “All in the Family” and “Sanford and Sons” said his popular representation as a liberal isn’t entirely accurate.
“Everybody knows me to be a progressive or a liberal or lefty or whatever,” the 93-year-old Lear said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “I think of myself as a bleeding-heart conservative. You will not fuck with my Bill of Rights, my Constitution, my guarantees of political justice for all.”
While the producer made it clear he’s a “bleeding heart” when it comes to “those who need help and aren’t getting the justice that the country promises them and the equal opportunity the country promises,” he said he’s still a conservative when it comes to social issues.
“I’m a bleeding heart, but I think myself to be a total social conservative,” Lear stated.
One of the core issues to Lear is reigniting pride in America in the country — a concept he believes our current leaders don’t understand.
“The people who are running just don’t seem to have America on their minds, not the America I think about,” he said. “When I was a kid we were in love with America. As early as I can remember, there was a civics class in my public school. And I was in love with those things that guaranteed freedom before I learned that there were people who hated me because I was Jewish. I had a Bill of Rights and a Constitution, those words out of the Declaration that protected me. And I knew about that because we had civics in class.”
Lear would like to bring back a stronger teaching of civics in American schools to ensure children understand these concepts.
“Everybody loves America. But I don’t need their flag plans to prove it. I’d like to go back to civics lessons.”
Lear, in spite of his recent comments, is famously known as an outspoken progressive and his shows often expressed left-wing viewpoints. He even founded the liberal non-profit People For The American Way as a counter-force to the religious right in 1981.