HGTV Athwart History
Raimondo in Takimag:
It is clear, just visually, which world is the better one, and this is the best sort of propaganda—more effective than a thousand jeremiads against the decadence of modern culture and the formal propagation of “family values.” In the culture wars that conservatives have been waging, with a notable lack of success, HGTV is more subversive of the dominant anti-family, anti-heterosexual, anti-bourgeois sensibility than the entire panoply of “pro-family” activist groups and thinktanks put together. With its bias in favor of rootedness and a sense of place, HGTV gets at the real essence of conservatism, properly understood. I’d much rather watch a few episodes of “My Parents Home” than read, say, National Review, or tune in to the latest episode of “Uncommon Knowledge.”
Emphasis in original. The entire article is oddly fascinating and while I haven’t seen a lot of HGTV I’m pretty sure he’s right.
