Stan and Dan challenge groupthink ('Sesame Street' Wednesday)

The 'Sesame Street' of old encouraged creativity.

The sketch profiled in this entry appeared in the days when dissent against groupthink was more tolerated. This '80s-era segment features Gordon reading a story about 2 Muppets named Stan and Dan. One Muppet starts out copying the other, but then decides to break the mold:



When the blue Muppet stops copying the green Muppet, it's kind of like when that guy in Kentucky who runs that blog started defying stupid local rules like the rules against bringing soft drinks into a public street festival or using a city park after dusk. Remember when that happened? And remember how cool it was?

And remember how much better it made that guy feel?

It's kind of like when the Democrats stopped doing everything the Republicans had been doing. Wait, they didn't stop.

I'd be surprised if a children's show featured a sketch like this today, in the era of public school uniforms and manufactured music.

Ironically, Gordon in this segment seems to be wearing the same type of absurd '80s trousers that my mom kept buying for me when I was in high school because some catalog or slick ad said it was in style. So kids may have received a mixed message from this skit.