Editing Rod Serling (section)

===Racial equality===
''A Town Has Turned to Dust'' received a positive review from the critic [[Jack Gould]], who was known for being straightforward to the point of being harsh in his reviews. He called ''A Town Has Turned to Dust'' "a raw, tough and at the same time deeply moving outcry against prejudice."<ref name=Gould1958/> Set in a Southwestern town in a deep [[drought]], it sees poverty and despair turn racial tensions deadly when the ineffectual sheriff is unable to stand against the town. A young Mexican boy is lynched, and the town as a whole is to blame. A second lynching is in the works after a series of events leads again to the town turning against the Mexicans. This time, the sheriff stands strong, and the first boy's brother is saved, even as the town is not. "Mr. Serling incorporated his protest against prejudice in vivid dialogue and sound situations. He made his point that hate for a fellow being leads only to the ultimate destruction of the bigoted."<ref name=Gould1958/>

Serling took his 1972 screenplay for the film ''[[The Man (1972 film)|The Man]]'' from the [[Irving Wallace]] [[The Man (Wallace novel)|novel of the same title]]. The black senator from [[New Hampshire]] and president ''pro tempore'' of the Senate, played by [[James Earl Jones]], assumes the U.S. presidency by succession.