Collin Harvey ن 🦍

This is the Oxyrhynchus Hymn, dated to the late 200s AD. It is the earliest known Christian hymn manuscript with both lyrics and musical notation. A plain English rendering of the surviving words: “Let all creation be silent. Let the shining stars be still. Let the rushing winds and rivers cease. While we sing to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, let every power answer: Amen, amen. Strength, praise, and glory forever to God, the only giver of all good things. Amen, amen.”

Apple just released its worst product launch video ever. It’s the same exhausted stereotype that Americans are sick of: marriage is miserable, children are unbearable, and Dad is an idiot. Apple’s new HomeView commercial brings back that tired “sitcom version” of the American family: the bumbling dad nobody respects, the overbearing mom, and the kids who seem irritated by everyone around them. Everyone lives together. Nobody seems particularly happy about it. We spent years being told this was funny. Watching it now, it just feels sad and depressing. As a father of four, I know family life can be loud, messy, and chaotic. But you can show a hectic morning and still give us the sense that these people love each other. That the parents respect one another. That underneath the noise, this family is on the same team. Instead, irritation seems to be the main thing holding this household together. I think people are exhausted with this portrayal of family life. The husband is another child for the wife to manage. The boss-mom wife is perpetually annoyed. The children are sarcastic and ungrateful. And somehow we’re supposed to find it charming. Maybe in 2017 this was still funny. But in 2026, it’s cringe and tasteless. Show us a husband and wife who actually like each other. Kids who help one another. A family that can laugh together without someone always being the punchline. This is what Americans are craving again. Love. Respect. Normality. There is something deeply appealing about a loving, functional home. Especially in a world where constant division and hostility leave people exhausted and longing for somewhere they belong. Home should be that place. Do better Apple.