In these divided times, at least we have these 12 things everybody likes.
Ice Cream
Whether you like regular ice cream or some kind of coconut-based ice cream or something lactose-free or that avocado stuff Tom Brady apparently enjoys, it’s all ice cream and we can all agree that it’s nice.
By the way, we’re not saying The Simpsons are on the list of Things Everyone Likes. That’s just the picture.
Babies Laughing
Love kids? Never want kids? It doesn’t matter — we can all agree that there’s almost nothing better, in terms of pure joy, than hearing a baby laugh.
Going Great So Far, Right?
No one’s raced to the comments to say anything about politics or religion. We love it! Now on to No. 3 on our list of things everybody likes…
Batman
No one doesn’t like Batman. Even The Joker, Batman’s mortal enemy, has kind of a man-crush on Batman. Of course he does! Batman is amazing.
Maybe we like different versions of Batman — you think of him as Adam West or Michael Keaton or Ben Affleck, and I think of him as Christian Bale. It doesn’t matter! They’re all Batman. We all like him, because he does his best to do the right thing and keep his corner of the world safe and happy, no matter how dark things get.
Yow
Everyone’s a critic. Seriously? Some of you don’t like Batman?
Let’s try again…
Casablanca
If you watch it, you’ll like it. We’re not saying it’s a perfect movie, but — you know what? Yes we are.
Next on our list of things everyone likes is…
Paths Free of Snakes
We like all kinds of paths, but whether you like paths through public parks, paths around a body of water, or some other kind of path, everyone agrees: Any good path has to be 100% free of snakes.
And what about also…
Little Women
The Louisa May Alcott novel and also all the movie adaptations. Just terrific.
That’s Winona Ryder and Batman in the 1994 version.
Cookies
Whether we’re talking about sugar cookies with little reindeers on them, chocolate chip cookies or some carefully calibrated cookies for people with all kinds of allergies, everyone likes cookies. Some of us might even like cookies too much, but you know what? We’re willing to take the risk.
Again, we’re not saying The Simpsons are on our list of things everyone likes. We’re talking about cookies. We’re just using The Simpsons to illustrate our point.
Bill Withers and His Music
If there’s soul or R&B song you like, but you’re not sure you sang it, it was Bill Withers. “Lean on Me”? Bill Withers. “Just the Two of Us”? Bill Withers. “Lovely Day”? Bill Withers. “Ain’t No Sunshine”? Bill Withers.
Even if you somehow don’t like his songs, you have to love his story: The son of maid and a coal miner, he joined the Navy, then worked as a mechanical assembler for years while performing and shopping his demos at night. When “Ain’t No Sunshine” became a hit, he refused, at first, to quit his blue-collar job because he knew how fickle the music industry could be.
Look, we understand that you’re gonna check out of this gallery right now and go look up Bill Withers songs, and we aren’t even mad.
Hello!
You’re still here. Thank you.
You’re gonna like the last three things, guaranteed.
The Sopranos
It’s simply very good. There’s little not to like about it. It’s dramatic, sure, but also one of the funniest shows — and definitely the funniest drama.
We can argue about the finale and still agree that the show as a whole was magnificent. It crosses all generational and political lines.
Even if you hated The Sopranos you’d have to at least like it for opening the door to lots of others shows that you do like, right?
“Superstar” by The Carpenters
The way Karen Carpenter sings this is simply exquisite. The orchestration is perfect, too. Sometimes you want to have a sit and feel melancholy and this is a perfect song for those moments.
Remember that scene in Tommy Boy where the Chris Farley and David Spade characters can’t agree on anything but they agree to leave “Superstar” on the radio and then the movie cuts to both of them singing along and weeping?
That’s exactly right.
The Simpsons
Actually, we do think everyone likes The Simpsons. Not every season or every episode, necessarily. But as an entire body of work? Pretty great.
Dolly Parton and Everything She Does
Dolly Parton is the epitome of a national treasure. She’s an incredible singer-songwriter, she has a fun sense of fashion, and have you tasted the cinnamon bread at Dollywood? One of the best things we’ve ever tasted in our lives.
She takes care not to get too political, but never hesitates to say things that have to be said. And did you know that her Imagination Library has given away nearly 240 million books to kids? Look, we don’t have kings and queens in America, but if we did, we’d make Dolly queen.
She’s also so brimming with common sense she’d probably be the first to tell you not to take a list like this too seriously. In these weird times we’re just looking for some common ground.
Look, We Tried to Think of Things Everybody Likes, We Really Did
Have some notes? Let us know in the comments.
Also here’s a list of things lots of people like, including Casablanca, and a list of things not everybody likes, which is fine.
Main image: The 1966 Batman. 20th Century Fox.