There’s got to be a morning after

Does that phrase mean anything to you? It is the title of the theme song from the 1970s disaster epic, “The Poseidon Adventure.” Disaster movies were all the rage in the early 1970s. I hadn’t thought of it in decades, but the “news” coverage following the midterm elections triggered a wacky word association game within me.

Disaster movies were popular and commercially successful in the early 1970s. Was it because their themes echoed the dire opinion many Americans held about the state of our country at the time? Was there a didactic intent in those stories of disaster, struggle and hopeful recovery? After watching terrible things happen to the poor ole characters portrayed by Red Buttons, Shelley Winters, Frank Albertson, Carol Lynley and Stella Stevens—was the intention to make us feel better about our dire “real lives” by having us conclude: “Thank God that’s not me: [fill-in-the-blank] in that towering inferno, earthquake, being chased by a swarm of killer bees or possessed by a demonic invader.

But if you believe what you see and hear these days, the 1970s do not hold exclusive claim to the condition of malaise. The incessant drumbeat of talk, talk, talk says these times are surely as dire as the 1970s. Do you believe there is any purpose behind the news we are presented these days? Are the pundits and analysts deliberately portraying the state of our nation so glumly in order to have us collectively ratchet up our good-old-American fortitude and prove them all wrong? It would be lovely to think there is some point to their yammering beyond advertising sales quotas.

What there is, first and foremost, is the media’s relentless need for content to fill the screens in your home, on your desk, on your cell phone and everywhere else you look. The monster to which we are all now enslaved is the insatiable creature named “I need to know now.” This creature that lives within us must be fed day and night. Feeding the monster means someone has to crank out the “news” non-stop. It’s enough to make a journalism degree holder conclude that his or her career track might have been better served by instead studying to become a farrier. (Actually, that’s probably not a bad occupation in these parts.)

It is important to remember that there is “a morning after” for all of us, regardless of your personal perception of the state of our Union. One of the benefits of having reached a certain age (hint: in Asian cultures we are referred to wise elders) is having been around long enough to see that life is somewhat cyclical. There are echoes of times past in the situation in which we now find ourselves. But history rarely repeats itself exactly as before, so new answers and solutions must be found.

The “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it” school of thought won’t work here. Nor will turning back the clock. And the process of finding answers is the point of stress for many of us. The confrontational approach of elected officials and the nonstop blaring by media outlets is disconcerting, but try to remember that a fundamental part of our identity as Americans is allowing others to express their opinions, whether or not we agree.

Like passengers on the U.S.S. Poseidon, societal upheaval and widespread discontent has hit us like a rogue wave. Like soaked passengers climbing through the labyrinth of a capsized luxury liner, we have to “hold on through the night.” May I suggest the ultimate stress reliever: simply unplug for a little while. Put down your cell phone, turn off the news and try reading blogs by columnists who want to make you laugh…and think.