The Messages in M*A*S*H
I have started watching M*A*S*H reruns. It probably seems like a strange way for a social worker to unwind after work, but the humor does me good. Plus the writing is smart. The conversations are poignant and heart-breaking. The storylines have a timeless relevance — as long as there are wars. I love Hawkeye’s humor and heart. The series doesn’t sugar-coat war or glorify violence, but it also doesn’t belittle or scorn the men and women who serve. War seen through the eyes of doctors and nurses — how brilliant!
The term “M*A*S*H humor” really means something to me. The jokes that are told in hospital settings are the medicine the staff needs to carry on. The bigger the heart, the bigger the need to use humor as a balm. The crazier the system, the more soothing it is turn on the TV and hear Hawkeye roast a general or two.
I love you 4077. I love you Radar and Klinger and Hot Lips and Colonel Potter and B.J. Hunnicutt and Father Mulcahy. I don’t love the laugh track, but as someone once said, “If you want perfection, go stare at an egg.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M*A*S*H_(TV_series)
Cathleen Hulbert, LCSW, is a clinical social worker in the healthcare field and a free-lance journalist with a background in newspaper reporting. She also is the author of “The First Lamp — A Story of Cosmic Illumination,” a time-travel tale about love, forgiveness and redemption. She lives in Roswell, GA. For more information about the author and the book, go to www.cathleenhulbert.com.
