The 1988 Show
1. “Do Your Body Work”: The Problem of Change (Sponsored by
Crystal Light)
It would be easy, if perhaps a bit cynical, to point out all of the
ways in which American culture is different today compared to what it
was in 1988.' Certainly, things have changed, and a dollar doesn’t buy
what it once did. But this is true of every era. The cost of living goes up
and times inevitably change. As cynicism goes, however, this is the
minor leagues. If we wished to sound the depths of nostalgia, we could
get much more disparaging. We could, for instance, work our way
through the entire calendar year of 1988 and note how little things have
changed rather than how much they have changed.
For example, we might remember that on January 15, 1988,
Jimmy “The Greek” bemoaned on national television that black athletes
are better at sports because of their “thick thighs.” And, he continued,
that’s because slave owners always bred them that way to “work in the
fields.” Luckily, in the years that followed, no one ever was racist again.
On February 21, 1988, multi-millionaire televangelist Jimmy Swaggart
appeared on television after being accused of hiring prostitutes, giving
his famous “I have sinned” speech. Luckily, in the years that followed,
no holy men ever sinned again. Also in February of 1988, to coincide
with the Olympic games being held in Calgary, Nike launched a new ad
campaign, introducing the world to the “Just Do It” slogan. Luckily,
Nike went on to just do so many wonderful things for children and other
sweat-shop workers around the world. On March 16, 1988, The First
Republic Bank of Texas failed and entered FDIC receivership—^the
largest government-assisted bank failure at that point in history. Luckily,
in the years that followed, no bank ever defrauded anyone ever again. On
the same day that the Texas bank failed, Lt. Col. Oliver North and
Admiral John Poindexter were