The real reason "Dukes of Hazzard" offends the loony left

A flag-burning liberal killed nine African-American Christians in a church in Charleston, South Carolina. President Obama was eloquent and well above his weight class (as he is wont to say) in delivering the eulogy.

I would like to end this post there. Taking down the Confederate flag and changing the name of a few Army posts does not make much sense. I would rather ban burning the American flag. But this holier-than-thou race to hysteria has TV Land dropping "The Duke Of Hazzard." Apparently someone figured out after 36 years that the car's name is "General Lee" and not "Generally."

But the story behind "The Dukes Of Hazzard" makes the show so dangerous that I am surprised that CBS ever aired it. It is a brother of "A Christmas Story," the "Porky's" trilogy, and every slasher film ever made. Beneath all the veneer of Good Old Boys running around is a protest of a corrupt government, and the dangerous advocacy of self-reliance. The government took their guns. The Dukes used compound bows, baby.

Dukes began as a drive-in movie, "Moonrunners," based on the true adventures of 1950s moonshiner Jerry Rushing. Waylon Jennings narrated both the movie and the TV series. The concepts are the same. An uncle, bow-hunting cousins in fast cars, corrupt politicians, eye candy, and chase scenes. I remember watching the original movie and thinking, well, that's different.

The producer of "Moonrunners" was Bob Clark, a native of New Orleans who made movies in Canada in the 1970s when Canada was a tax haven for the film industry. His "Black Christmas" in 1974 is considered the first slasher horror film. He made it for $600,000. It pulled in $4 million and created a genre. There is much humor in his films. He was a great storyteller.

Of course, the TV show was lighter and Clark had nothing to do with it (although he kept some rights to it). But them good old boys, never meaning no harm, were very dangerous rebels. Not the kind that kept slaves, but the kind who could take care of themselves. They fought an amoral corrupt political boss and a guilt-ridden corrupt sheriff.

In other words, typical Democrats.

And that was what the South was back in the day.

The audience for the Dukes is dying off, as unfortunately is the willingness to defy the government.