It has certainly been A Week has it not? I am not a person who worries about things beyond my control… but 15 days into a New Year and I am worrying about all the things. People… so many people. Places… so many places. And things… as in what new things will pop up over night that will increase my worry level?!
So I am seeking escape… I know, I am well aware of the insane amount of undeserved privilege I have to do that… because all that worry… well, it does not change anything. (Nor apparently are any of the calls I am making to my elected representatives… that whole representative democracy thing? Yeah, it’s not working so well right now.) But I digress… back to The Privilege of Escape… I am doing that, full on.
“Trust remains the coin of the realm in politics. A President who is trusted, by the people, by the congress, by the press, by foreign countries, is a President who can get a lot of good things done.” — David Gergen, West Wing, Season 3, Episode 18
To aid me in my escape from reality, I have been watching The West Wing for the first time, yes you read that correctly…I never watched it originally. Steve says this was my Era of Not Knowing Anything… i.e. having 3 kids all very close in age meant that much of the world twirled by very oblivious me for a considerable period of time! Anyways, I am well into season 3 and episode 18 kind of stopped me in my tracks. (In fact, I immediately rewatched it!) It is a “reality infused” episode with a bunch of actual White House people (including President’s Carter and Ford) inserting some timely quips. I don’t know how timely they would have been when this episode first aired, but let me tell you… the quotes were timeless as their relevance today is shocking. (This quote particularly struck me as I realized that most all of my worries focused on the lack of trust in our current government that is being experienced by a lot of people all over the world!)
Anyways… I thought perhaps you also might not have watched West Wing. Perhaps you were in the same time warp I was in back when this was on television… or perhaps you did watch it then however maybe you need to rewatch it now!! And, as luck would have it, all seasons are available currently on Netflix. It is very good TV… the writing… the acting… it is just so good! (and it will give you something to do while you wait for the next episode of The Pitt! Ha!)
Be gentle with yourselves and spread some kindness as you go about your weekend…oh, and if you are queuing up The West Wing, let me know!
See you all back here next week!
I’m watching it, too, but this is my third time. I watched it twice during his first term, and I’m watching it again now because I finished All Creatures and am waiting to watch two episodes of The Pitt until John is gone next week. It is great TV, but sometimes it just makes me want to cry, knowing we may never experience anything even remotely like the Bartlet administration again in my lifetime.
P.S. I might call it your Era of Being So Busy You Could Barely Breathe. You knew plenty; it just wasn’t what was on TV.
I watched that series when it was first aired back in the “aughts” It made me feel so nostalgic for the days when the White House was respected and admired.
I understand your fatigue but calls, emails and letters to your Congressional reps means plenty. If we don’t make our voices heard we are like the Russians, North Koreans and all the other hopeless citizens under dictatorship. I am 75, I love America and I go to every protest that is in my area. We all must make our voices loud at this time of great peril. And yes, I did watch every heart warming episode of West Wing back in the day.
Hang in there. I skipped the West Wing when it came out. Maybe it’s time.
We never watched the West Wing either (probably same time warp . . . ). We’ve been talking about it. Maybe now is the time! And . . . hang on to hope, Kat. We must.
I’ve never watched it, either! Maybe I’ll give it a try. The world feels pretty bleak these days and it sounds like a good distraction.
I never watched West Wing either but then I am not a big TV watcher. Maybe I’ll bring it up while we recover from the influenza. It’s interesting that you mention it as I was thinking of a scene from the movie “American President” with Michael Douglas and Annette Bening where Douglas talks about the right of Americans to disagree with each other and that as President it is his duty to defend that right. If only. I keep contacting my Republican congressional delegation as Heather Cox Richardson reminds me is still important. Honestly, it feels useless but what else can we do?
We never watched West Wing, maybe we’ll give it a shot. But we also have so much other stuff we want to watch and it’s hard to commit to a bunch of seasons. I am thoroughly delighted with All Creatures Great and Small once again and I am rationing episodes so we don’t get through it too quickly.
I have a feeling your mood will be lifted a lot by watching. I did watch it when it initially aired and have been rewatching it with Molly (who obviously was not around yet when it was on). It’s such a great show and really makes you wish that it was reality.
I have never watched it either, but if it helps, then worth doing now.
I have never ever watched it either! Thanks for the mention, we’ve been watching super store which is hilarious but we are nearing the end.
It was, and always has been, one of my favorite shows. We rewatched it during the first Trump administration. It was heartbreaking then, I’m not sure I could watch it again now.