As everyone knows, the final episode of Friends aired last week. The Doubtlessette invited me over to her friend's house who was having a Friends Party, as many in the country did. Was I excited about the episode? Not really. Did I go? Of course. And I had a fine time, not necessarily because the show was great--it wasn't--but because it gave the Doubtlessette a chance to show me off as a Normal Guy Who Can Play Nice to her friend. And keeping the girl happy always produces positive results downstream.
So I went to the party, I drank a couple of Miller High Lifes and I played nice. What I didn't do was make snarky comments about the sociological implications of the show or carp about how it has lowered the standards for TV as many of my compadres in the conservative world were doing on that day, led by this piece.
It wasn't as good as Seinfeld? This is a point that actually has to be made? And the characters are "pathologically selfish and inane"? More insight? Bitching about Friends just comes across to most people as stodgy, uptight and just old. It was a decent show, good enough to curl up with your girl on a Thursday night and enjoy your time together--and that is as far as anyone ever needs to analyze it.
This shouldn't be who we are as conservatives. The trashing of popular culture is really something we should leave to the left. Let THEM sniff their noses at things regular Americans enjoy like pop music, network television, chain restaurants and SUVs. We should spend OUR time hammering THEM, not picking fights with television programs.
As I get older, I'm realizing more and more that the majority of our popular culture ain't that bad at all. I used to have much more of an adversarial view of My Tastes Vs. Everyone Else's: people who went to major Hollywood blockbusters were saps, if you liked Gloria Estefan you were stupid, if you ate at TGI Fridays you were a clone, etc.
It was simply juvenile and I'm fortunate I grew out of it. I can now go to the major chain restaurants and enjoy a meal without thinking about it (and btw, anyone who says they HATE the food at chain restaurants is full of it--it may not be your favorite, but you can't enjoy a cheeseburger? Come on) I can watch American Idol and not sneer or listen to a Three Doors Down song without feeling like I should put in Pet Sounds.
It's a hell of a freedom to just be a Regular American.
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