Andy Griffith’s death — at least for Baby Boomers — is another sign of our mortality. And a reminder of what we are, mostly.
As with other notable pop culture figures of our youth — Johnny Unitas comes to mind — the death of Andy Griffith this week reminds us of how far removed we are from our youth, how inexorable time is, a whisper to us that we are aging.
His death reminds us, too, of just how far removed we are from what seemed a simpler time, the time of our youth, a time when the pressures of globalization were in a distant future. A time when right and wrong seemed simpler to discern.
We enjoyed the gentle humor of the “Andy Griffith Show,” and reruns of it often cause us to contrast (and lament) the coarseness of today with that gentleness.
And it’s true: Our pop culture is light years worse than what we saw on Griffith’s show. Anger and sarcasm are the hallmarks of humor in today’s entertainment, with little room for deeper human emotions. Maybe that’s one reason why Andy’s show endures, a longing for people who treated each other with love and respect, who weren’t afraid of being sincere.
But here’s the good news: Andy Griffith lives.
Get beyond the sensationalism of “reality” TV and the incessant chatter of cable “news” and you’ll find Andy Griffith all around you.
You see him in your home, where you find your loving parents or kids. The mom taking time out of her busy day to console her daughter. The dad coming home from work to play catch in the street with his son. The boss giving you a little note of encouragement. The stranger holding the door for you as you try to maneuver a cart into a store. A brief conversation with a total stranger at the coffee shop. A friend offering help as a loved one is dying.
For a variety of reasons, too often we look to the heart of human darkness. There’s plenty of that to see, after all. But what the “Andy Griffith Show” celebrated is another eternal part of the human heart, the part that extends its love to others.
That part is eternal, even though it seems to be ignored. But it lives. The next time you watch a rerun of Andy Griffith, take some comfort in that.
• Mike McClellan is a Gilbert resident and former English teacher at Dobson High School in Mesa.
Bingo6 posted at 3:48 pm on Fri, Jul 6, 2012.
.....and let's don't forget Andy Griffith was a great and proud Democrat who, if he ever chose to run could've beat that great racist hero of Leon snd VOF Jesse Helms......oh! What could've been.
A great man, a great actor, a true American icon.....you will be grestly missed Andy....RIP.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 12:00 pm on Fri, Jul 6, 2012.
Yes, a time of being proud that you were born in the Greatest Nation on Earth (not like our First Lady, Michelle Obama, who was "ashamed to be an American" for the first 40 years of her Life).
A time when Americans were just that...plain old 100% Americans.......not 20,000,000-30,000,000 Million Illegal Aliens from Mexico and Points South.
A time where the only Flag you saw being carried in parades was Old Glory....not the Flag of Mexico.
A time when Americans were divided along racial and ethnic lines. There were no Black-Americans, Hispanic-Americans or Native-Americans........just everyday All-Americans.
A time when you could find the President of the United States every work day behind his desk in the Oval Office in the White House....not galavanting around the United States 3-4 days out of every single week drumming up votes for his 2012 Election Campaign costing the hard-working Tax-Payers $180,000.00 per hour flying in Air Force One.
A time when American Values were the rule....not the pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, pro-gays in the military ...European Values...were pushed down the throats of American Citizens by a President who apologized for the American Values.
A time when "In God We Trust" was America's Motto.........not "In Buddha or Alallah or Krishna or Whatever We Trust" that the President talks about when he says..."America is no longer a Christian Nation".
Yes, Mike, we all remember those times and on the first Tuesday in November we will all be going to the Voting Booths to bring back those treasured memories of a America that we all Loved...........by voting for ....Mitt Romney.
Arizona Willie posted at 7:33 am on Fri, Jul 6, 2012.
I didn't say he was murdered.
I said if it was a tv show they would exhume him and find that he was.
Because it is so unusual to bury someone only 5 hours after they pass. They must have had the casket on hand.
Usually 3 days is the normal time between passing and burial.
I see they did come out and explain his death as a heart attack, and they said he had been suffering from coronary type problems for some time. Which most of us didn't know of course.
I wouldn't be surprised but a lot of people were asking questions.
Such a quick burial looks like somebody was trying to hide something.
86 isn't that old anymore. Not with today's medicine. My mother in law is almost 92 and she is in great health. Uses some eye drops but that's it. I think she might make 110. Hopefully.
I always admired him. Great actor.
Too bad the real world can't be the way Mayberry was.
mrconservative posted at 10:57 pm on Thu, Jul 5, 2012.
VofReason, I'm sure you meant Andy Griffith, and not Griffin. But that's an easy mistake to make. No big deal.
Willie,
Five hours? Really? That's pretty interesting. No, I don't think he was murdered. That's sounds a little far-fetched to me. Seeing how he was 86, a few years older than Don Knotts and a few years younger than Jimmy Stewart when they died, it was not unexpected. I knew it would happen some day. I just hoped that "some day" wouldn't be until he was at least 90. That means Ron Howard is the only "original" cast member of The Andy Griffith Show that's left.
At least, I think he is. He's the last main character that's left, anyway. (Again, that's as far as I know, so don't get after me if I'm wrong)
Though, since Ron Howard was the youngest by far, it's not very surprising that he's the last one left.
pd posted at 7:53 pm on Thu, Jul 5, 2012.
"A time when right and wrong seemed simpler to discern."
I like to watch the reruns of Andy Griffith because it reminds me that right and wrong are still pleasantly simple to discern. Nice essay Mike -- 6 of 6.
VofReason posted at 2:34 pm on Thu, Jul 5, 2012.
Or maybe he was just 86 and died of old age. Andy Griffin was one of a kind and the fact that his show touched so many generations is a testament to it's beauty. Though we know that this kind of creativity and good clean fun died long time ago in Hollywood, I pray that no one tries to make a new show (ala Dallas) or Movie (ala the Brady Bunch) out of the memory. Who is it that we ask that TVLand goes back to just showing the old (good) TV that once was and quit trying to come up with their own programming. Sheesh.
Arizona Willie posted at 12:20 pm on Thu, Jul 5, 2012.
Yes it was a sad thing to read of his passing.
Surprising, to me, was when I saw that they buried him only 5 hours after he died!!
Almost like they wanted to prevent anyone getting an autopsy.
If it was a TV show the brilliant detective would exhume him and discover he was murdered.
Not saying he was ... but I didn't know it was even legal to inter that fast.
I do wonder what the hurry was.
chatmandu002 posted at 12:11 pm on Thu, Jul 5, 2012.
Good commentary Mike.