Plus ça change ...

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. That simple phrase remains one of the very few I can still recall from my days in high school, sitting in a French class taught by a teacher with an Art major and a powerful southern drawl. Such a grand way of saying what we've all heard before: the more things change, the more things remain the same. To the philosopher, it may be one of the most celebrated abstractions used to define the experience of the human condition through the passage of time. To those of a more pragmatic disposition, the notion is so intrinsically obvious as to warrant that other celebrated saying: "Well, duh!"

I am old enough to have seen the times change, and young enough to not be all that surprised by the fact. For instance, I am old enough to remember the days when TV stations would sign-off at midnight, play the U.S. National Anthem, and shut off their transmitters. I am young enough, however, to recognize - and to a certain extent appreciate - the 24-hr broadcast cycle as a market-driven opportunity. (You know somebody got rich selling all those Ginsu knives that could cut through tin cans and metal pipes and still slice your tomatoes). I would imagine that there are few remaining TV stations that still sign-off that way anymore.

I'm reminded of the time I lived on base near Grand Forks. Every day at 5pm, the flag would be lowered, accompanied by the playing of the anthem, and Taps, through the system of PA speakers that blanketed the base. Every car, every pedestrian, every kid on his bike would come to a stop where they were until the final note had faded in the wind. Maybe using the word "every" is a bit naïve, but from my vantage point and recollection, I don't recall seeing many violators of that etiquette. Nowadays, I still chafe when I see people talking, cooking, hats-on, and otherwise ignoring the anthem and flag (say, at opening day of little league). I wonder sometimes, if that custom of lowering the colors still continues, in the same way I remember it as a kid.

I also remember going to the movies on base. Prior to the start of any feature presentation, the screen would fill with the flag, the speakers would pound out a drum roll, and the theater patrons would rise as one as the anthem was played. The memory of silhouettes standing at attention against a movie screen filled with images of national landmarks and flights of Air Force fighters, bombers and tankers is one I'll never forget. I consider myself fortunate to even have such a memory.

To satisfy my curiosity, I asked the almighty Google if playing and standing for the anthem was still a common practice at theaters on military bases. The results were largely inconclusive, but I saw several references that seemed to indicate that, indeed, this custom remains alive and well. I'm glad.

Times have changed, and so have people across the generations. This is nothing new. But just as human nature transcends the changing times (in ways both good and bad), so too do certain ideals and virtues. I only wish we could spend more time appealing to that which is virtuous in us, rather than what is base in us.

The first video below is the video that begat the meandering rabbit trail above, posted by a friend of mine elsewhere. (I say meandering rabbit trail, because as I look at the first and sixth paragraphs, they seem like they should be the bookends of a different kind of essay, rather than the one I've chosen. But this is the path my mind took, so I'll leave well enough alone for now - an opportunity for reuse later). The second video is one I found, that while not exactly the same, is reminiscent of what I remember seeing in the theaters. Enjoy.