I was past the Sesame Street watching days when it debuted in November l969. My daughter’s watched, learned and were entertained by the diverse Jim Henson characters. PBS has hosted the show all these years and is under fire. Logic might suggest that an Orange felon would appreciate the diversely colored muppets that bring the show to life. I really doubt that POTUS has a clue what goes on in the show and the value it represents. Sesame Street is a threat according to Conservative thinking; talking about weighty subjects like colors, numbers, death, addiction, racism, incarceration, Covid 19 vaccines, Pride month and more. Explaining people have alternative life styles was proclaimed as “grooming” our children. NPR and PBS have been branded as “biased media”, prompting claw backs from their budgets of $500 million in annual funding distributed through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. I will not list the extravagant spending by the current Administration on everything from the Reflecting pool, destroying the Wing of the White House, tax cuts for the already wealthy, gilding the Oval Office, WWF fights on the lawn, and I am told $275 billion for the new Trump class destroyers. Oh, I failed to mention the War in Iran and the incalculateable cost of lives lost and tragic injuries.
All of this comes to mind as I read an article by David Gilles for the New York Times about a storm on Sesame Street. The article recounts a new episode that focuses on the dangerous effects of warming, without mentioning climate change. There is a valid discussion about the value of explaining the cause of the increased number and severity of these events. The fact is that children born in 2020 will experience “up to seven times more extreme weather” than a child born in 1960. Parent’s struggle with the best way to educate their children while assuring them they are safe. Over the year’s Elmo, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Grover and Snuffleupagus have set a tone that informed and comforted their young viewers. This episode depicts a fierce storm, knocking over lampposts, blowing out windows, and scattering debris around Oscar’s trash can. The Sesame Street regulars prepare for the storm and then assess the damage after it passes.
Importantly, the children see proactive response to the threats, Elmo helps his father distribute food and water to the neighbors, Snuffy preaches the value of hugs, and Bert and Ernie offer shelter to a bevy of barnyard animals. Afterwards, it is time to survey and damage and plan recovery efforts. This is frightening but the point is that it is “ok to be scared sometimes”. I now know who Post Malone is, and he sings, “we can go through something hard, but I know we’ll make through ‘cause you will always be there for me and I’ll be there for you.” We are there for our grandchildren, I do not believe that the Orange Wanker and his legion of deplorable’s has any real interest in most of us. If they did, they could demonstrate it by working on reducing our emissions which are undoubtedly speeding global warming and the need for Sesame Street.
I encourage you to look into the climate effects of the new mega Ai centers being built. I will only tip you off, they are not climate friendly.
“Sunny day, sweeping the clouds away—on my way to where the air is sweet is the much loved theme song. You might guess that Rubber Duckie was the second most memorable song followed by C is for Cookie. My personal favorite was Destiny’s Child singing with Grover, Elmo, and Zoe- “I’ve Got a new way to Walk”. The link is below, it will make you wonder what kind of people are threatened by Sesame Street.
From a funny birthday card “one of my favorite things about our friendship is that I can ask you a stupid question like, “How do you spell orange?” And you ask, “The color or the fruit?” This shows you are taking the question seriously and I appreciate that about you. Enjoy the sunny day Hank captured on the day Mmma left this mortal coil, can you see her in the cloud formation.
Be well. Mike
Sunny Days
