Tim Allen and Team Finish 'Last Man Standing' With Class - And An Ethical Message

P. Gardner Goldsmith | May 24, 2021
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Fans of his work know that comedian, actor, and producer Tim Allen has taken a light-hearted but strong stands in favor of individual liberty and free markets, and against cancel culture and collectivism. And fans of his popular Fox comedy series, “Last Man Standing,” know that the entire cast and crew last week joined Allen to finish the series in style and with an upbeat approach to life and love. But as a special bonus, Allen concluded the final episode of the nine-year run by offering a truly powerful message about freedom, peace, and better living standards. Like his comedic work, it was a message that will stand the test of time as a compliment to freedom-minded, peaceful people, and as a warning to the aggressive parasites who would use the state to bleed off their neighbors. In fact, Mr. Allen even may have made reference to one of the great books on liberty in his final words as the character Mike Baxter.

Given the possibility of tipping the proverbial hat to Bob Newhart and the ingenious conclusion of his second big series, “Newhart” -- in which (SPOILER!) Bob awakens in bed with his wife from his FIRST series (played by Suzanne Pleshette) to discover that the events from the second series were all a dream– showrunner Kevin Abbot opted not to have Tim awaken in bed with his wife from “Home Improvement,” to discover “LMS” had been a dream, and the team chose instead to keep things realistic. In so doing, they gave millions of appreciative viewers an open-ended, solid, message about the virtues of familial love, friendship, hard work, kindness towards those with whom one might disagree, and, as Allen offered his final monologue, about private property and the Golden Rule.

 

Related: James Woods To Tim Allen: ‘Have a Brain and a Few Opinions...Looks Like That Cost You Your Job’

 

Turning on his “cam” for the last “Outdoor Man” website vlog (it would be fun to see him do more of those periodically in the future and let them loose online), Allen delivered a spirited and meaningful message, thanking viewers for “watching these vlogs, all 194 of them” (a nice way to say “thanks” for watching the series) and he added, in part:

I also wanna thank everyone who’s NOT watched, because they’re probably out making something, building something, doing something, fixing something. For too many people the only thing they know how to make is an excuse.

And he continued: 

I’ve been thinking a lot about Makers and Takers, because I had something very valuable taken from me. Somebody took my truck.

The latter being a reference to a plot point in the final episode, and the former possibly being not only a reference to free individuals robbed by arrogant, collectivist politicians and their supporters, but also being a possible reference to the excellent book on freedom and free market economics actually called, “Makers and Takers”, by Edmund Contoski.

And Allen added a heartening verse mentioned by Ronald Reagan after he lost the 1976 GOP nomination – a passage that could encourage freedom-oriented people through the ages, or could encourage anyone going through a transition from one phase of life to another, saying:

Though I am hurt, I am not slain. I lay me down to bleed a while. Then I will rise and fight again.

Beautiful. And to conclude, Allen said:

“What kind of punks steal other people’s stuff? Make something yourself, men, my mother was right. She always quoted this famous comedian – I can’t remember his name – who said, ‘Men are pigs, uh-uh-uh-uh…’ Baxter, out.”

Perfect. Hats off to Tim Allen and the “Last Man Standing” team for doing excellent work and connecting to people they may never meet in person – hats off for providing long-lasting lessons about family, life, love, speech, economics, and freedom.

Well done.

 

 

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