I have noticed something weird with society lately. Well actually I have noticed about 77 million weird things with society lately but for now I’ll just focus on one.
Back in my day (remember I’m very old compared to most of you whippersnappers on here) everyone had a “type” or a “taste” and that was cool.
You like things that taste like feet. I don't like things that taste like feet. Cool. More for you then.
I like chocolate chip ice cream and you like strawberry. Cool. Your enjoyment of strawberry will do absolutely nothing to diminish my love for chocolate chip. You like the Cubs and I like the Sox. Cool. I may joke around with you about it but I certainly don’t want your life to be miserable because you like a different team. You’re a Republican and I’m an Independent. Cool. You think government should be smaller, provide fewer services and charge less taxes and I think that might be true for some things but I think the government should provide more services in other areas and taxes need to be increased to cover those services. Alright, we have different options, let’s go play basketball. I like Industrial music and you like Country. Cool. I even found an artist that mixes the two. You like guys and I like girls. Cool. Your love of guys has no impact on my love of girls… in fact it means less competition and I need all the help I can get. You are on the autism spectrum and need some help with understanding sarcasm and I need some help understanding logic. Cool.
Back in my day, we finally started to also swing toward another radical concept (insert sarcasm here) the idea that EQUAL RIGHTS ARE NOT PIE! You can’t run out of rights! Giving someone the same rights that I have does not take away a single one of my rights. This may sound crazy, but we can BOTH have rights. And we can BOTH be treated with dignity and respect. You being treated with dignity and respect has absolutely zero impact on me being treated that way.
These basic ideas are part of the reason I became a special education teacher. While we had made a lot of progress, I still saw a gap in some people’s thinking and more importantly in the treatment of people with disabilities. But I had a knack for very easily being able to say “different is not less”. And that is what all of these things come down to: Different is not less.
Different tastes in ice cream, baseball teams, non-extreme political ideology, music, sexual orientation, disability status, doesn’t make anyone less. As long as we aren't talking about having a taste for mistreating living things, it just makes them different!
But we seem to have lost the plot as a society. Now different is not only less, it may actually be evil.
If you are wondering what inspired this harangue, it is that super controversial (insert sarcasm here) Super Bowl Halftime Show. Oh boy. Did I just open a can of worms or what (more sarcasm please)?
I have watched every Super Bowl since Super Bowl X (yes just one “X”). Do you know how many Super Bowl halftime shows I have liked? Four. Those were Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, and the Rap Legends. Now to be fair, the halftime shows were just marching bands and stuff like that until around 1991 so I’m really only counting about 35 shows. But that means there were 31 shows that were not my cup of tea. They just weren’t for me. They did meet my taste. They were different from what I liked, but they were not less. In fact, I know I am in the minority for many, many, many of those shows. But that is ok. I didn’t get my chocolate chip ice cream but that does not mean I’m angry at all of the people who got their strawberry. Not everyone has the same taste. You can’t have 140 million different halftime shows. So instead of being bitter about what I did not get, I am happy for the millions of people who were brought joy by the performance.
Another thing us old people have been forced to do is to learn to make the best of things. Perhaps it is from growing up with only four television channels, a radio and limited record albums. We could not simply click on a device and instantly get something that meets our exact tastes. Sometimes you had to make the best of watching Love American Style while you waited for Batman to come on. Sometimes you had to listen to a song on the radio you only kind of liked. Whoa. What a concept. But now we are spoiled. “This is not my exact taste. Click to one of the other 500 channels or hit skip on Spotify.” Poof. Instant gratification.
So for me, instead of whining about the 31 halftime shows I did not like, I found something to enjoy in them… or I went to the bathroom and skipped it. I did not ruin someone else’s enjoyment just because it wasn’t in my wheelhouse.
You like to get married on the halftime show. Cool. Wishing the new couple years of happiness!
So what did I enjoy about this year’s halftime show? Well the music is not for me. I like Industrial music. This was not Industrial music. But I have to admit, a lot of the music also had some cool beats to sway my hips to but that’s another story. But damn did it look freaking cool. I can’t believe all of the different sets and props they used in just fifteen minutes. There was also a cool story throughout that culminated in an actual marriage (yes that couple were actually married during the performance). Also, as a history teacher, I was super impressed that it taught a history lesson of Puerto Rico that even included the current problems with power outages across the island. But what I liked most was that it celebrated unity and showed how “America” is not just The U.S. We often abbreviate The United States of America to just “America” but that leaves out a hell of a lot of people. And there were some really attractive women who would fit right in Banshee Pennsylvania… but really it was the sets, costumes and message that were my favorite… I swear.
I like chocolate chip ice cream. You like strawberry. Cool.