It’s probably safe to assume that there are many self-identified “liberals” who enjoy watching Downton Abbey, drawn in by its air of prestige, its aura of highbrow escapism, and the fact that it’s broadcast on PBS, thus stealing money directly from American taxpayers. But do those liberals realize that they’re secretly being indoctrinated to love rich people, eventually leading to the total crumbling of their ideology? Gleeful in their discovery of this subterfuge and in finding something to talk about besides the Inauguration, Fox & Friends stupidly exposed the show’s hidden agenda this morning, letting economist Stuart Varney—whose pleasant British tones helped soften the blow against liberal dogma, much as they do on Downton Abbey—spill the beans on how the series “poses a threat to the left,” then very nicely asked some poor people to tidy up those beans, because that’s what nice rich people do.
“Rich people, powerful people, in America today, are reviled, aren’t they?… We just hate ‘em! Rich people are evil!” Varney said, using his extensive background as an economist and adult man to make his very professional assessment of the economic climate. But then a show like Downton Abbey comes along, with its classy, good-looking, job-creating rich people who occasionally express a vague semblance of human sympathy to the employees who tend to their every need and outfit change, allow their servants time to die of cancer rather than casting them into the ditch, and only disown their daughters for falling in love with the chauffeur for like a year or so. And then, before they know it, the Democrats have lost the next election to write-in votes for Maggie Smith and cummerbunds. It all makes sense, if you look at it as an economist.
Of course, there are some who might point out that Downton Abbey is actually about the decline of rich people, a timely story of how the privileged, idle rich aristocracy ultimately came to realize that their way of life was ending, usurped by a more modern and egalitarian society—an illustration of the very “class warfare” Varney claims it’s negating. Others, such as unlikely voice of reason Gretchen Carlson (Who also calls it “Downtown Abbey,” so she’s just like you!) might argue that much of the show’s popularity could have to do with the fact that it’s simply a well-made series in which relatively smart people do relatively smart things, rather than certain other shows where stupid people say whatever blather comes into their heads. “You can say all of that, but you miss the point,” Varney says of Downton Abbey, which he definitely understands. [via Mediaite]