The truth about “Mad Men” (UPDATED)

The latest Maclean’s has a “well, duh!” but still valuable article about the real reason all your hip, cool, urbane, sophisticated friends (liberal and conservative) love Mad Men.

Oh sure, the liberals SAY it’s because they love the writing and the costumes and the art direction.

But the real reason is (to use a word of my own) “post-algia”. That is, a longing for a time they’ve never experienced.

A time when men came home to hot meals cooked by wives who weren’t wearing dirty, baggy pajamas. When your kids called you “Sir” and not “asshole”.

When you didn’t have to keep going in for diversity training and wondering what you were supposed to call minorities this week. No ugly wheelchair ramps or transvestite washrooms or group hugs or recycling. No tofu, no hippies, no Pride parades, no Paris Hilton, no Code Pink, no dreadlocks.

A time when you had to go out of your way — say, to the carnival — to see a 300lb woman with a tattoo.

A time when even pregnant women could smoke and drink without getting dirty looks — and let’s face it: when do you need it more?

Oh sure, the creator makes all the right noises about how he’s “making fun of all that” and “showing the dark underbelly of American culture in the 1960s.”

But everyone knows the truth. Few are brave enough to admit it.

It must be so weird being a liberal and having to lie all the time, even to yourself.