Thirty-Three Years Ago, Marge Simpson Fought Back Against Barbara Bush
Culture wars are nothing new. Back during the Bush administration — the first Bush administration — First Lady Barbara Bush decided something needed to be done about a new television show that was corrupting the nation’s youth. In an interview with PEOPLE, she went as far as to call it “the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.” That was right in line with the views of her husband, George Sr., who told the 1992 Republican National Convention that "America needs to be a lot more like The Waltons and a lot less like The Simpsons."
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Way harsh, Bushes. Certainly you didn’t expect the family’s matriarch to take those rebukes lying down? Thirty-three years ago almost to the day, Marge Simpson decided she needed to respond. With the help of a few Simpsons writers, she sent a letter to the First Lady defending her family.
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“I recently read your criticism of my family,” Marge began. “I was deeply hurt. Heaven knows we’re far from perfect and, if truth be known, maybe just a wee bit short of normal; but as Dr. Seuss says, ‘a person is a person.'”
The Simpsons aren’t so bad once you get to know them, Marge argued. At least give them the benefit of the doubt until you’ve spent a little time with them. You want “the dumbest thing” you ever saw? Try sitting in for a session of Congress or two.
“I always believed in my heart that we had a great deal in common,” Marge concludes. “Each of us living our lives to serve an exceptional man. I hope there is some way out of this controversy. I thought, perhaps, it would be a good start to just speak my mind.”
As it turns out, it was an excellent idea. Apparently moved by Marge’s words, Barbara Bush reconsidered her stance in a return letter to Springfield. “How kind of you to write,” Bush replied. “I am glad you spoke your mind; I foolishly didn’t know you had one. I am looking at a picture of you, depicted on a plastic cup, with your blue hair filled with pink birds peeking out all over. Evidently, you and your charming family — Lisa, Homer, Bart and Maggie — are camping out. It is a nice family scene. Clearly you are setting a good example for the rest of the country. Please forgive a loose tongue.”
Bush added a P.S.: “Homer looks like a handsome fella!”
It’s hard to imagine a political divide being so easily mended these days. Things got so chummy that the Bushes even moved to Springfield in an episode called “Two Bad Neighbors.”
Hrm. Maybe Barbara was right about Bart and Homer all along.
