There is something fundamentally unclean about people who try to be ethical. Whether it is their attempts to fit their lives into preconceived notions of how they should live, or their constant attempts to make others live in that way, there are good sound and human reasons why the term “do-gooder” is an epithet and those who earn it also earn derision.

My stepdaughter, her husband and my tiny grandchildren are “not-quite Vegans”, i.e. vegetarians that won’t wear animal hides or furs. They are passionately left-wing, where I, who am no longer political, once ran for office as a Republican. (They knew me when I was a passionate right-winger.) We love and laugh together every chance we get. I never feel judged, when we go out for dinner, for example. My son-in-law and I have sane political discussions that often end in agreement and never end in animosity.
That said, they look a lot like the Goode family, all the way down to the dog. I’ve often wondered what my granddog does when nobody is looking…

Charles–I’ve been finding it fascinating that you’re one of our most faithful comment-leavers, and yet your comments most often seem to fall into the ‘ethics are a bunch of hooey’ column. Would you say that’s a fair characterization? And, would you like to share a bit about why you find this blog enticing if its subject matter appears so trivial–even bogus–to you? It takes all kinds to keep a dialog going, so I’m really enjoying your unique perspective.

I don’t think The Goode Family is a comment on ethics per se. I think it’s more of a humorous look at the extremes to which some people in our society go to be “politically correct.” And, in my opinion, being politically correct and being ethical are not one in the same. For instance, I don’t consider myself unethical because I don’t believe in affirmative action, nor do I consider someone who does believe in it to be unethical. I don’t even think the question of affirmative action is a question of ethics at all. But I digress. While I think the origin of the phrase “to be politically correct” in our society was an attempt at redefining what was ethically responsible and what wasn’t when making assumptions about other people, I don’t think that The Goode Family is commenting on that so much as it is commenting on the ridiculous lengths to which we have taken it. Am I just ranting? I’m not sure I even understand what I’ve written here, but it makes sense in my head.

Mike Judge is awesome. This will be his third hit, and don’t forget to catch his movies “Office Space” and “Idiocracy”.
Us lefties can laugh at ourselves as well as anyone. For myself, I make decisions I will feel good about, today, tomorrow and when my grandchildren ask. I suggest you do what you think is correct for you.

You’re review is what is funny about the Goode Family. The humorless, literal sanctimony of Liberals who criticize everything but themselves.