I dunno how Carroll didn’t give himself a heart attack! He was a brilliant actor.

I remember someone asked my step-dad, who was drafted. Served and fought in the Vietnam War in the Army as part of an artillery unit. They asked my Pops how he felt about people who dodged the draft and went to Canada. His response. "I don't blame them. They didn't miss out on anything great."

That is arguably the greatest scene in the history of All In The Family.

As a military Vet myself, i can tell you that this is one of the most devastatingly perfect statements on ALL armed conflict and it’s unmeasurable affects on everyone ever produced. This show has always been my all-time favorite series, but this episode alone is a masterpiece. And, frankly, I don’t think we’ll ever agree about its various meanings, but I think we can all agree that it’s brilliant and warrants endless viewings. The whole cast was amazing, but O’Connor? While that performance was a masterpiece, he went someplace exceptionally dark and hard to make it work. And we are all the better for it.

Probably the most heated scene in the entire series. Greatly acted by O'Connor.

I grew up during that era and this was not fiction. The same conversation was being held in dining rooms all over America

Man my heart broke when he said "but David's alive to share Christmas dinner with us"

Carroll O’Connor should have some an Emmy for these few lines. Brilliant acting all the way around. Why can’t we have tv like this today?

And that war still killed many after it was over. Those that served having PTSD. Depression. Drug issues. Suicide. My dad served in the Air Force over there, you could see it how it took it's toll on him over time. He died at 57 with addiction to pain pills being his biggest issue. Prayers and peace be with those that served and dealt with the hell they never should have gone through.

No matter how many times I watch this, I lose my breath when Archie does his thing. 😢😢😢

One of the most powerful, emotional scenes in television history. I see it from both sides but Pinky's speech just hits so hard. I come across this episode a lot and still get emotional.

I met Eugene Roche once. And we talked about this episode. It is a very powerful episode and you not only got a laugh, the show made you think.

Archie bunker’s war had men commit suicide if they were ruled 4-F for the draft. That’s why it matters so much to him

One of the best episodes of any television series.

This show could tie you up in stitches - or rip your heart out.

Still brings a tear to the eye. Great writing and casting all down the line. They probably couldn't make a show like "All In The Family" today. Thank God they made it back then and we still have it to enjoy.

What this show did was make us understand BOTH SIDES of an issue and feel good about and we understood. Now, we just cancel each other out. We need more ALL IN THE FAMILY moments.

Pinky could see what David was talking about right away and tried to change the subject. What a guy!

Carol O'Connors acting chops are amongst the best ive ever known. The mans eyes speak 20 pages of dialogue

the greatest show... brilliant balance 👍🏻💯 it's funny and serious. this episode was powerful.

Ironically Carrol O Conner opposed the Vietnam war, rightly so

At 3:18 in the original CBS episode Archie actually said “Goddam War.” This was powerful.

I respect all who served and all who felt like David. There were no winners in that awful war.

This is one of my favorite AITF episodes of All -Time, especially Pinky's reaction towards David at the end.

"Ain't nothing wrong with wanting to live"

People better take a serious look at this episode, as history is bound to repeat itself.

"I don't want to talk about that rotten damn war no more! I'm talking about something else! And what he done was wrong!!" - so powerful.

Best episode of the series. O'Connor is brilliant in this scene. Should of gotten an Emmy for it.

This was an amazing episode.

Carroll O'Conner was a iconic actor who portrayed the typical "American persona" of All In the Family. Carroll performance in this episode is "outstanding"

My Dad served in the Air Force over there. He has almost never talked about his service in Thailand. Once I showed him a video that a friend of mine who was a helicopter pilot during that time and it almost made him cry. He told me it brought back some memories which weren't so good. God bless all who served during that time. Whether you agree with the war or you don't (I don't), this who served should be honored. Those who refused to serve, as conscientious objectors, should at least be respected as having the right to object.

this country never, never , should have put it's two cents into this senseless WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They both make valid points from each point of view.

One of my favorite episodes - not just of this great series, but TV in general!

I cant watch this without crying now that my son is gone. Worst feeling in the world to have a dead son.

Love this episode. The audience reaction when David tells Edith he has been living in Canada pretty tells you where it's going. Both Archie and David think they are right as Archie is a proud WWII vet who served his country and received the Purple Heart, and David refused to take part in a senseless war because it compromises his principles. I love Pinky's reaction because he does what his son would have wanted. He treats David like his son. Beautiful. It's Christmas and a time of forgiving.

At the end of the day, Archie had the right to ask questions and be concerned about who was in his house.

I remember this episode. I was probably 13. I don’t remember how I felt when I first saw Archie scream “I don’t want to hear anymore about that God Damn War”. Now it brings tears

As a WW2 vet,Archie believed in doing what you have to do for your country,but there was a difference between WW2 and Vietnam,men and women actually volunteered to go off to war during WW2 and the ones who were fortunate to return home,were welcomed with parades and celebrations in the streets,i was just a kid during the Vietnam war,but remember hearing about war protests and rioting in the streets,and veterans returning home to be spit upon and called names like baby killers,but that was the media causing trouble as usual.

Reading the comments below demonstrates the unique power of this ground breaking show. Over 50 years later it still strike a relevant exposed nerve.. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

Powerful scene. Incredible performances. Find myself laughing through moist eyes. Like "we haven't enough food for the FBI". Carrol is amazing.

My partner's father came to Canada from America to escape the Vietnam War. If he hadn't, she and I wouldn't be together.

Carroll o' connors put on on a great performance by putting a lot of intensity in that scene. He deserve an academy award.

Keep in mind Archie was a WW2 Vet

Carroll was in ww2 and this scene was very special to him and in an interview he said we went off script for doing that yelling at the war cause he fought for our country

I don't blame him for dodging the draft it's his life and he didn't start the war and it is wrong of other people to tell him that he should sacrifice his life for a war they started. If they feel so strongly about it then they can send their families to fight the war they feel so strongly about.

I’ve been back here numerous times to watch this episode of all in the family it was one of the funniest and serious sitcoms on TV and this episode gets me every time 😢

So powerful I cry EVERY TIME I watch it And I've watched it MANY times

Probably the finest half-hour ever spent by any of the networks on a topic so devastatingly important to the American public and, even more so, to the American psyche. I believe the famous photograph of one of the dead students at Kent State (5/4/70) bears this out. Vietnam is still a sore spot with the generations (who especially) lived through those times. The counter-culture probably said it best: "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" ☮️

Growing up in the 70's I loved "All in the Family" I learned so much about race, the Vietnam war, and homosexuality from this show as a young kid. A lot of real issues that were never taught to me in school and my parents didn't talk about them because I think they wanted to shield us from these uncomfortable subjects. But I learned and being informed about these subjects gave me a better understanding of the world and it opened my mind and made me aware that the world was not as rosy as our parents made it seem.

What a powerful episode. I hope someone will Put up the full episode. Wonderful Christmas episode. Prayerfully one day good, clean wholesome entertainment will come back one day.

A very powerful, memorable episode.

What a show to have such a powerful episode in it's 7th season!! It's amazing to read the contemporary comments by people and see how there is still a divide on the issue. Great television

I grew up during the Vietnam War R.O.T.C. era (Run Off To Canada), and well remember a lot of young men making those hard choices. Watching this scene always gets me crying.

I understand the purpose for the draft but going over seas to fight in civil wars is never a good thing.

Arguably the best episode ever. Notice when Archie breaks down and curses the Vietnam War. Yeah, even Archie Bunker as it turns out actually hated the war too....This was a time for healing....

the very best moment of one of the very best episodes of ones the very best tv shows of all time

I can see both sides of this.......powerful stuff.

"He owes an explanation to the Commander in Chief" "I wrote him a letter explaining myself, sir." "Where do you get off writing a letter to the President?!" LOL, Archie's a mad lad :P

Archie wanted Pinky’s opinion….until he said something he didn’t agree with.

OMG. I’m actually in tears! Wow! That scene was powerful!

3:18 the most power moment of this show.

I’m with Archie on this one and always have been. What’s right is right.

POWERFUL episode. I come from a military family. My brother was in Vietnam. I eas a military wife for 25 years. I agree with the draft dodger but get Archie's point as well

Awesome show and deep subject matter. For decades I thought I had to pick one side or the other. Fight or dodge. I know now that I admire both stances, those who fight for a noble purpose. And those who refuse to kill another human being at the request of another. I respect both sides.

Carroll O'Connor. One of the greatest actors of all time.

Think of this when you think of what's happening in Ukraine.

I was in junior high school then, and recall this show. I think “All in The Family” program was very helpful to this country.

The most powerful acting performance in television history!!!

Happening in Russia as we speak.

OVER 58,000 US soldiers paid "the ultimate price" halfway around the world. I commend them for answering the call of duty. Countless millions died in the 11-year war in South East Asia from 1963 to 1975 fighting Communism and trying to defend Vietnam from falling to the Vietnamese Communist forces which were aided by other Communist countries. For the US, it was a humiliating defeat which ended bitterly. Many youths, many of whom were Baby Boomers said they would NOT go because they felt it was an unnecessary and unjustified war unlike WWII was. It was a war which could've easily been won within 1 year but the US government prolonged it and more and more young men were being slaughtered and 100's of thousands if not several million people died in that very long and bloody war. Archie Bunker was thinking it was like WW2. Vietnam War was VERY different. I try to see both sides of the coin. I sympathize with both Archie Bunker's patriotism and the young man at the table who was quite respectful but straight forward. When you are compelled to do something against your will you have lost your freedom to decide. Vietnam War has left a stain on America's soul just like so many other wars. It left us weak in the eyes of our enemies who now believe, "you can win a war against America IF you hold out long enough." That was just the case with the pullout of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021. Today, America is being invaded via a "non-hostile" take over from the southern border and is now on a decline. Failed fiscal policies are eroding and undermining our beautiful republic. Our Democracy is under a hostile attack like never before in our nearly 2.5 century history. I'm afraid we could now be imploding from internal political corruption similar to the once mighty Roman Empire. It is very plausible there could be another Civil War just over the horizon. Question is: who will be the victor in the aftermath of another American Civil War.???

What a powerful scene.

One of the greatest episodes ever

Archie was right because he served and gave something more than David did. I hate war as well. But i am grateful and humble that my father and 2 uncles served in WWII. And my mom and aunt worked in a parachute factory. The greatest generation to date. This was an amazing show with amazing actors over all.

Lear's bias is unmistakable in this show, but he does give Archie common sense on many issues, even here when he declares it's a "GD rotten war!" clearly edited out for TV.

Carroll OConnor and Jean Stapleton were the best of the best...no one has ever brought drama and comedy to the TV screen like these two and I doubt ever will again. Carroll deserved an Emmy for this performance, but the entire cast was brilliant.

Edith was so good in this scene to puncher the tension in the scene.

Awesome acting in this 1976 Christmas episode of All In The Family. Carroll O Connor should have won an Emmy Award for those lines he shouted !

THIS WAS A VERY POWERFUL EPISODE HERE, I GREW UP DURING THE TIME OF THE VIETNAM WAR AND SEVERAL OF MY FRIENDS LOST THEIR BROTHERS IN THE WAR

This is the first time Archie spoke out against the Vietnam War

This was the scene where Archie actually says, "I ain't talking about the 'Goddamn' war!"---naturally, it was edited for television along the rest of the country when it aired on prime-time.

In addition to some of the best comedy ever to grace T.V, what set this show apart & imbedded it in our hearts & minds, was how it took on the issues. Head on, no holes barred. Race. Sex. Religion. And war. THAT war. I'm 70 yrs old, and I still cry about it. War is never easy, but that one was a real tear in the soul of our country. Very few in the middle. You supported it, or you didn't. It divided families. Friends. Co-workers. Even churches. The wound is still raw. Still hurts. And now we're trying to survive new wounds. The 'middle'.... compromise... seems harder & harder to find. Will we ever? What's it gonna take..? Please, God. Not another war. Archie might call us all Dingbats & meatheads....

I lost 8 members of my high school class (1967) to the war, a war in which I served. I only wish that they moved to Canada as well...they'd still be alive.

My brother grew up during this era, I was 3 years younger than him. I gradually realized the danger he was in, as I grew up, having to go fight in a war that none of us in our family believed in. (My dad was relieved from WWII overseas duty due to working in Washington, my mom worked in the Manhattan Project, so they participated in the WWII effort. A whole different kind of war.) My brother was planning to either be a CO or go to Canada. Luckily, he got a very low draft number in 1973 (the year he turned 18), and thankfully they ended the draft after the Paris Accords that year. There are those who will say he got off easy. He still grew up knowing he was possibly facing death or exile from his country, because he couldn't support a war that was dragged out and killing people for some ideological reason that made no sense to him. I think because he had to be so serious all his childhood, he became a doctor who treated dying patients. He himself died fairly young (age 66) of pancreatic cancer.

I served this country. It’s not for everyone. He shouldn’t have to fight a politicians war.

Still the most powerful scene ever filmed in a sitcom

In case anyone’s watching, Archie said he didn’t want to talk about “that goddam war no more “ not “that rotten damn war”. It was later dubbed.

This was an excellent show that tackled may issues...

Military service members deserve our respect. They do a job most of us couldn’t do even if we wanted to. And people like David don’t deserve our disrespect. There’s no shame in refusing to follow leadership you believe has shown itself to be incompetent and/or corrupt. That’s not cowardly, that’s basic common sense.

So Amazing. Love You All.

Brilliant just brilliant. It proves to our current generation that even though we argue and disagree over tough issues we can come together and heal. Great acting.

For those who never understood why All in the Family is arguably the best sitcom in the history of TV should watch this scene. It was one of many and they were iconic. Norman Lear was a genius. RIP.

Awesome writing in this scene!

Best tv episode ever.

Why did David legally endanger everyone by showing up to a Christmas dinner?

I actually sided with Archie in this case. He was drafted against his will to go to war himself but he did go he saw the horrors of war he saw friends die and he got a purple heart cause he took shrapnel and to have a draft dodger sitting at his table must have felt like a huge slap in the face

I remember watching my neighbor's kid, who'd just come back from Vietnam... he was standing on his driveway in front of an old oil drum. I was on my little Big Wheel. And there he was, ripping off his uniform, and throwing it into the oil drum and setting it on fire. I did not understand that as a child, but I sure remember seeing it. When I told my father, he erupted a bit like Archie because he'd served 8 years in the Air Force and seen a lot of action in Korea. It's been over 45 years and I can still see it, clear as day.

Rest in peace Norman Lear.

It was a very big deal for Network TV at the time when Archie Bunker screams "I don't want to talk about that rotten damn war no more!" I believe the original script said goddamn war. That would've never got by the censors.

All in the Family has always been one of the greatest programs on TV. This scene is as relevant today as it was back when I was in high school. Hopefully we see a national healing here. Then as now.