Every time I think the culture-war clamor is abating, I swear I hear, “Hold my beer.” Sorta like how every year since around 2018 has been consistently worse than the one before.
Usually at this time of year, it’s all about the supposed “War on Christmas” because some folks wish people they don’t know (and therefore don’t know what holidays they celebrate among the plethora at this time of year) “Happy holidays.” How dare! There’s also assorted mishegoss over religious displays on government property (hey, if you let Christians put displays up, that means you have to let others do the same, so stop complaining when the local synagogue, mosque, and/or secularists insist on displays as well; private property is a different thing altogether from public property paid for by taxpayers, so have at it there, within the rules of your city/ homeowners association/whatever).
This year’s war appears muted, at least thus far, other than a Fox News host saying that AI data centers should take precedence over tree farms and everyone should just get a fake tree. Though I haven’t had a real tree in years, I would much rather the land used to grow Christmas trees remain so, if for no other reason than that tree farms are far more environmentally friendly (hey, they absorb carbon and release oxygen!) and less of an eyesore than data centers that bogart electricity and water that can be used for far better purposes.
(Merriam-Webster just named “slop,” as in “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence,” as its 2025 Word of the Year [more on that later in this post]. So in addition to its environmental hazards, AI is contributing to the replacement of human creativity, and that cannot stand.)
That doesn’t mean the culture wars aren’t raging, and on many fronts: against the LGBTQ+ community (and being the feral aunt and friend of many in that community, don’t test me), against the arts (because they make you think and feel, I guess), against women (both as members of society and for their bodily autonomy), and against public education, among others. In Arkansas, we now have the ignominious distinction of being the first state to disaffiliate from PBS.
Because Big Bird is evil and teaching kids socialism through lessons about the alphabet, kindness and tolerance, doncha know. Plus, there’s the Snuffleupagus thing, and the aliens, and … and … BERT AND ERNIE!
Arkansas PBS (now to rebrand as Arkansas TV beginning in July) was a victim of the Trump administration’s cutting off of funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the cost of PBS membership fees, with commission members voting last week to cut ties with PBS.
Arkansas PBS Executive Director and CEO Carlton Wing maintains that “Public television in Arkansas is not going away. In fact, we invite you to join our vision for an increased focus on local programming, continuing to safeguard Arkansans in times of emergency and supporting our K-12 educators and students. We are profoundly grateful for the overwhelming support that donors, viewers and community partners have shown since this funding loss. We are confident that we can secure ongoing and increased support from individual donors, foundation partners and corporate sponsors who see the value in investing in new local programming that serves our state.”
Except that there appear to be quite a few Arkansans, judging from social media posts, who are now pulling their donations from Arkansas in favor of surrounding states that retain their PBS affiliation (not much help for those of us in central Arkansas, though; we can contribute elsewhere, but we’re not near enough to our borders to easily get a signal from other states over the air).
While there are worthy local programs, those aren’t why most people in Arkansas have donated to AETN/Arkansas PBS over the decades. It’s because of shows like “Sesame Street,” which so many of my cohort grew up with, learning along with Cookie Monster, the Count, Mr. Hooper (whom my brother Corey called Mr. Looper) and countless others how to co-exist, count, read, and imagine. It’s “Masterpiece” and all those great mysteries and other dramas; “American Playhouse,” which for some of us might have been the closest we ever got to Broadway (I still occasionally pull out the recording of “Into the Woods”; Bernadette Peters will always be my Wicked Witch); “Nova,” the science program that my dad watched nearly nonstop, and “PBS NewsHour.”
It was free and over the air, just as it was intended all those years ago when public broadcasting began, especially in service to rural communities. And Arkansas still is largely rural, and still needs time to get reliable and affordable Internet to all regions. Not all Arkansans can afford or have access to Internet service, nor can everyone afford PBS Passport (you have to be an eligible donor to participating PBS stations to get Passport).
Yes, the world has changed, but the need for public broadcasting is still there. We still need Grover (my personal favorite, who shared my grandpa’s name) and Elmo teaching kids about letters, words, and concepts like “near” and “far,” as well as science, documentary and news programs that enlighten and inform, and entertainment programs such as “All Creatures Great and Small” (the original or the new version) and “Marlow Murder Club” that provide both an escape from reality and food for thought.
And let us not forget that it was AETN back in the 1970s and ’80s that provided me my first exposure to “Doctor Who” (Tom Baker was my first, and he’ll always be my favorite classic Doctor) and “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” laying the groundwork, along with “Sesame Street,” “Electric Company” and many others, for the awkward and weird, yet well-rounded, person I am today, one who believes that political and/or religious ideology shouldn’t dictate what and how we learn, or how we treat others. (Right about now, the trolls on the newspaper site are probably crowing that I’ve just given them proof that PBS turns you liberal; nope, it turns you into a caring human who can think for herself.)
I know I’m not alone in that, but sometimes it sure feels that way.
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Now, on to the Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. I apologize for not doing an entire newspaper column on it, but the PBS decision was burning a hole in my brain. I mean, even ALABAMA’s commission backed down. Accusations of Arkansas being anti-education, anti-intellectual, etc., are well-deserved when talking about those in power in the statehouse.
Anyway … Merriam-Webster noted that “The flood of slop in 2025 included absurd videos, off-kilter advertising images, cheesy propaganda, fake news that looks pretty real, junky AI-written books, “workslop” reports that waste coworkers’ time… and lots of talking cats. People found it annoying, and people ate it up.”
Talking cats, sure, though those AI cats aren’t nearly as entertaining as real ones. And some people like Drennon Davis still make their cats talk the old-fashioned way, by putting words into their open mouths.
I’m personally annoyed by all the AI videos that show up in my Facebook Reels feed, most especially the porch pirate ones. Way to ruin the whole concept of getting back at the people who steal your packages (yeah, I’m still salty over the Christmas gift from a friend that was stolen some years back) by flooding Facebook with fake videos.
Of slop, the dictionary wrote, “Like slime, sludge, and muck, slop has the wet sound of something you don’t want to touch. Slop oozes into everything. The original sense of the word, in the 1700s, was ‘soft mud.’ In the 1800s it came to mean ‘food waste’ (as in ‘pig slop’), and then more generally, ‘rubbish’ or ‘a product of little or no value.’
“In 2025, amid all the talk about AI threats, slop set a tone that’s less fearful, more mocking. The word sends a little message to AI: when it comes to replacing human creativity, sometimes you don’t seem too superintelligent.”
Slop was joined on the shortlist by words and expressions like “gerrymander” (thanks, Trump and Texas for making this an issue five years earlier than usual with your mid-decade redistricting for no reason other than political advantage; this is why truly independent agencies in each state should be in charge of the redistricting process to ensure fairness); “touch grass” (“to participate in normal activities in the real world especially as opposed to online experiences and interactions”; the dictionary reported lookups spiked after Charlie Kirk’s murder); “performative” (“made or done for show [as to bolster one’s own image or make a positive impression on others]”; I’m sure we can all think of plenty of examples); “tariff” (the less said the better at this point, because apparently nothing will convince some that we, not foreign countries, pay the tariffs on imports); “6-7” (because we all need more nonsensical slang in our lives); “conclave” (which spiked after Pope Francis’ death [and even before, with the movie “Conclave”] while the conclave in Vatican City was selecting a new pope, ultimately the first American, who wasted no time in riling the president by not bowing to him); and “Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg,” a lake in New England that shows up in the Roblox game Spelling Bee, but which is also known as Webster Lake.
I’m a little surprised “gerrymander” didn’t take the top spot, but I’m not mad that “slop” did. I am mad that AI slop exists in the first place, though.
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One more note before I close. I was devastated this Sunday to learn of the deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. The news trickled out slowly at first (as it should, to prevent reporting someone dead who isn’t), and then each alert after the one confirming the identities of the bodies found at their home seemed worse than the last, culminating with the one announcing the arrest of their son Nick on suspicion of their murders.
Our president, of course, couldn’t help but make it about him, by posting a heinous diatribe about Reiner’s activism, when all he had to do was post the last sentence: “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!” (No, I won’t post or link to his comments.) Many conservatives called out the president’s response. Sadly, though, some of his lower-profile MAGA followers were seen gleefully celebrating the Reiner murders on social media (some apparently forgot that if your settings are public and you make stupid comments on trending topics like celebrity deaths, that stuff is going to find its way to people who will call you out rather than just those who echo your beliefs).
Celebrating a death, no matter who it is, is never the way to go, especially on social media. C’mon, just like you really shouldn’t post drunken party photos because future employers might find them, you really should not post diatribes on those you don’t agree with. Comment in general on things that tick you off. Eschew broad generalizations (most of us are a spectrum of beliefs, depending on the issue, so stop lumping together everyone you disagree with as libtards or rethuglicans). If you have proof, present it. Don’t insult. Don’t libel. Treat others the way you wish to be treated because if you treat them like crap, you shouldn’t be surprised if that’s how you’re treated. Be the bigger person.
Yes, Rob Reiner was not a fan of the president, and in America, he was free to make his opinion known, just like everyone else. He and Michele were human, Americans, parents, and believers in the Golden Rule. They were worried, quite rightly, I believe, about the direction our nation has taken in recent years, where political division has so soured even the tiniest interactions. But he did not rejoice in the death of an opponent. When Charlie Kirk died, he told Piers Morgan, “I unfortunately saw the video of it and it’s beyond belief what happened to him and that should never happen to anybody. I don’t care what your political beliefs are. That’s not acceptable. …”
“What his wife said at … the memorial they had was exactly right. And totally I believe—you know I’m Jewish—but I believe in the teachings of Jesus and I believe… in forgiveness.
“And what she said, to me, was beautiful—you know she forgave his assassin and I think that that is admirable.”
But sure, he and his wife were killed because they had Trump Derangement Syndrome.
I didn’t agree with Reiner all the time, and I didn’t have to. What was important to me was what he put out into the world through his creativity (no AI needed): not just movies like “Stand By Me,” “Misery,” “The Princess Bride,” and so many more, but so many roles that became iconic because of his acting, writing and/or direction (him as Mike Stivic, Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya, Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes, etc.).
Everyone could stand to be a bit more like Reiner, at least every once in a while, if just to admit that maybe the other side isn’t all that bad after all. Call out those who are, yes, but don’t paint everyone with the same brush.
Serenity is a fuzzy belly 