Bill Maher’s Latest Commentary Made Me Really Sad About Being Sad

Sad movies during a sad time. That was the point. Time to do something about that

I’m a fan of Bill Maher; have been for years. I think he’s very intelligent and thoughtful — and not afraid to say either what’s needed or to say it in a way it’s needed. I rather like that.

Today I saw a clip from his most recent show that really got me thinking. The overall theme was that the current crop of movies up for an Academy Award are all really…sad and depressing. Coming at a time when most of us are pretty stressed and sad and burdened (apart from the wealthy, who just got wealthier it seems; and some vaccinated ahead of time), Bill’s little nuggets included:

If your movie is so woke, how come I’m falling asleep? And…

Could it be that being sad allows you to feel like you’re doing something about a problem without actually doing something?

That got me thinking, because I distinctly remember some words appearing in a number of my recent articles around the subject of sadness, being sad about how things are going, etc. And I am — no doubt. It makes me sad to see the BS and hate and prejudice and things like that. Makes me damned sad. But Bill’s commentary made me think about the “sad” thing a little; and I’ve found that honest thought is usually a good thing.

And so it is for me right now. I’m going to work on being less sad about things, and more active in doing something about the things that bother me that much.

And, to begin with: in about 20 minutes I’m going to swoop into a ZOOM session with my youngest son and my future daughter-in-law, who are in May going to be first-time parents — and also bring me great joy with my 6th grandchild, and my 3rd grand-daughter ; another Princess for me! And I got to be here for all that, even if some movies were downers and although the past 12 months have been awful and sad!

That’s my first positive affirmation that “sad” is to be pushed aside.