My post was never intended as an attack on Southerners or their values. I can't imagine how it came across that way. Maybe I'm to blame because my words misled you and others.

"This Mad Men show's writers are showing their political bias and making a political statement."

Until you've watched one or more episode, you really can't say what they're doing. Since this program opened on cable in 2007, I've seen every episode at least three times, and some episodes I've lost count - maybe ten-twenty times each. Let me assure you, the last thing writers are doing is making political statements or showing bias.

Try this. Enter the search term "Mad Men" on a search engine, and add the words 'subtle' and 'nuanced'. You'll get thousands of hits.
This isn't "CSI", and it's not "Happy Days." This is about American businessmen and their families in 1960. The main character was born about 1925, so he's the same age as my parents.

Characters on this program rarely say anything about race or civil rights. Black people are rarely seen or heard from in "Mad Men", just as they were invisible any TV series produced in that time. Did you ever see a Black person or hear about civil rights on "Father Knows Best", "Leave It To Beaver" or "The Donna Reed Show"? I'm not trying to be critical -- just saying it's historically accurate for that period of time. Rather than trying to be critical or make us dislike characters because they have racial attitudes common for that time, writers of this series are simply attempt to portray American life as it was in 1960.

Rememer how rapidly things changed during the 1960s. The first series of "Mad Men" is set in 1960 -- no champions of racial equality on the radar screen. I don't recall anyone use the term "civil rights" until 1962 or 1963. My father's office had Black and White waiting rooms. Nobody thought anythnig about it -- that's just what everyone expected.

Sterling-Cooper, the advertising company in this series, has a business interest in the presidential campaign of Richard Nixon. During a strategy meeting on how to present Nixon to the public, one of the two senior partner offers this --

“He's a young, handsome Navy hero. Honestly, it shouldn't be too difficult to convince America that Dick Nixon is a winner." Focusing on Senator Kennedy’s youth and inexperience, another executive observes that he never even wears a hat. A junior employee responds,

“You know who else never wears a hat? Elvis…that’s what we’re up against.”

Does that exchange sound like an incorrect impression of the enviroment of the times?

If I may offer a modest suggestion, invest a couple of dollars and rent the first DVD of "Mad Men" season one. Watch the first episode, which largely focuses on Lucky Strike. It includes a scene set in a New York men's club, for which I apologize in advance. I'd like to get your opinion afterwards.

Fall classes will be starting soon, and my classes have been seeing dozens of scenes from this series.