Contemporary television commercials seem to range from inane to disturbing. If they accurately reflect American society, we are going down. Advertising was not perfect when I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, but many of those commercials are classics. They were often fun, campy or self-deprecating. Back then, many industries seemed to be selling lofty ideas as well as products.

These days we have to wait for the annual Super Bowl commercials to hope for some nuggets such as this past year’s dog for life or ”Bahhston” lager or the importance of triangles.

The two months of Medicare plan commercials each fall make me very happy for the mute button. There are screeching white women and depressingly racist images of Black women in those ads. Many of the plans offered are scams disguised as respectable additions to Medicare coverage. As my dad always said, “If it seems too good to be true, it is.”

Over the last several years, the plethora of erectile dysfunction and Peyronie’s disease commercials, the slim mention of birth control for women, and the products to keep women and their natural body parts from stinking would have one believe that men have the serious medical conditions while women just need to smell better. I cannot watch the commercials obsessed with the functions of a man’s penis without thinking that there is likely no controversy about getting insurance coverage or the dignity of support while women have to fight for bodily autonomy at every turn.

It feels we have hit bottom when we no longer use discreet terms about bodily functions in commercials. Women now boldly pronounce they poop and wear urine protection pads of all sorts. While I do not want women objectified as mere sex objects, I also want them to be attractive in an empowered way. Brie Larson’s car commercials are fun. The woman who talks about the deodorant you can put in every orifice — not so much.

The life insurance commercials are relentless. You pay $9.95 per month without a health exam and your premium never rises. They must be raking it in because those ads run on every station. As you may imagine, the payout for such coverage likely depends on many factors; in other words, there is fine print to be read. And many of them show a wife harping at her husband for not signing them up. Kind of like get off the couch and mow the lawn. Very retro and not sexy at all.

A prevalent sponsor alliance for television is the pharmaceutical industry. The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries in the world that allow direct-to-consumer advertising of drugs. Friends of mine in other countries look confused when I tell them about the plethora of commercials for anti-depression, bi-polar disorder, a second or third drug to counter effects of another anti-depression drug(!), immunotherapy for people with terminal illnesses, eczema, Botox with actors under age 40 toting it, and drugs to help with memory issues. One friend asked me, “But isn’t it unethical to profit from needed medication and to suggest medication that is not needed?” Bless her, she has not been exposed to the American health care system.

The anti-aging industry is a boom business. It must be for people who did not get the memo that aging is normal and a fortunate part of our lives if we do not die in our younger years. There are pills to take so we can golf at age 85 or take daily vigorous walks. And apparently if you are over age 50, your memory fails and you need pills to keep you sharp. I didn’t know.

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My favorite commercial when I am in the mood to activate my sense of humor is the one with Mike Huckabee and his wife as they promote a sleep aid drug. They say they could not sleep for years and it greatly affected their everyday lives. It seems they did not consider the extreme right-wing harm they did in the name of their fake version of Jesus and how whatever may be left in their consciences prevented them from a good night’s sleep. The pill is their game changer. I wonder if the pill rewires their brains to eliminate bigotry and hate.

We may want to mute people in live situations at work or in our personal lives at times. The telly mute button gives us a sense of control in this chaotic world. Without it, I would have lost my mind every time the orange-haired fascist appeared these last seven years. I highly recommend muting for mental health.

J.M. Sorrell is a feminist at her core. She would love a commercial with Helen Reddy’s “I am Woman” playing as women from all walks of life express being happy and empowered but it wouldn’t sell.