I got a chance to watch plenty of television over this past Thanksgiving weekend. That's not to say that I don't find time for sports, the occasional game show and the more occasional movie while I'm here in Philadelphia -- I certainly do.
Rather, I just never have the time or the devilish inclination to leave my rear in a tight holding pattern around my the couch when I'm at school. I retain that honor for Mom and Dad's house.
As I took in the tube -- and, mind you, there was some solid TV on over the weekend --ÿone thing kept bothering me.
It wasn't the Macy's parade or the football. It wasn't even those new Gap commercials with Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit" in them. Frankly, I found those spots oddly fascinating in a William Shattner, spoken-word sort of way.
Instead, what really irked me was the incessant way in which every single political talking head, nearly every velvet-throated voiceover pitchman and a goodly number of other folks on the screen had to preface their remarks with a nod to the events of Sept. 11.
Phrases like "In light of our nation's tragedy" and "in this time of national mourning" pervaded. A friend even told me that the Bayou-bred quarterback of LSU told the audience at home that the Tigers were dedicating their bid for the SEC Championship to the folks suffering in New York.
Now the outpouring of concern for those directly or indirectly victimized by the events of Sept. 11 is understandable. New York is a city in recovery, and we are a nation recouping.
That said, the attempt to place nearly everything -- sporting events, TV dramas, your next lame-brain movie project -- in the context of an event of Earth-shattering import seems a little bit self-serving and misguided.
If only I had a dollar for every celebrity I've seen go one of of those Access/Inside/Shmentertainment shows and talk about how things are "never going to be the same."
No kidding.
Of course, things aren't going to be the same. The terrorism of the 11th fractured the collective psyche of hundreds of millions of people and has perpetuated a major military conflict in a very dangerous part of the globe.
Yes, things will be different. But they're not going to be different because of a freaking very special episode of The West Wing or because Robert "Can't Grow Old Gracefully" Redford had to delay the release of his new film.
They will differ because this culture, this populace is undergoing deep experiences that will alter the path of history in fundamental ways.
I get a sense, for one, that the generation of Americans currently coming of age is developing a brand of social and familial ethics that contrast sharply with what most saw as the path of the last few decades. Rather than being content with hanging loose on society, I think our peers now have the desire to truly "invest" in life.
This past summer, I led a program for high school seniors, and in our discussions during the balmy days of July, those talented 12th graders spoke of how much they wanted to retire early, how divorce didn't faze them.
Just a few months later, when I get a chance to correspond with the kids from the summer, they give off a different vibe. They have a much more profound sense of the power of connections, the investment that one makes in friends, in a career, in a family.
They no longer talk about the need to make money early just to be able to live later. On the contrary, they now talk much more about crafting a life, soup to nuts.
On the cultural front, there's no telling how the tragedies of September will affect the fiction, drama and film produced in the next few decades. All I can say is that these events will have an effect upon the cultural consciousness of this nation comparable to the shadow that the atomic bomb cast over the Cold War era.
That means we might wind up with great black comedies like Dr. Strangelove or Cat's Cradle. We might also become engrossed by an escapist mythology like that which fueled J.R.R. Tolkien's works.
Really, who knows?
What's unmistakable is that these changes will be deep and will develop gradually. The events of Sept. 11 matter, and you don't need to state that at the beginning of every public sentence like some kind of papal imprimatur.
It really goes without saying.
Will Ulrich is a senior Philosophy major from the Bronx, N.Y.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.