The Power of the People

Earlier this week I heard a familiar statement. It came from the food industry but it theoretically applies across the board. A farmer was being interviewed about the generally unhealthy nature of the food that we eat and especially the conditions under which poultry and lifestock are mass produced. The farmer said something like this... We could produce healthier food sources. We could feed cattle what cattle were meant to be fed. We could raise free range chickens. We could produce, market and distribute whole grains. All it would take is demand...

Behind the farmer's comments is an idea, an ideal really. It is the ideal of the free market economics. In free market economics, no one is ultimately responsible. The individual is but a dot on the page, a fraction of a data point. What matters is the aggregate. The sum of many data points and how they trend. The farmer's explanation for the unhealthy food that is produced and consumed in our society is us. Look, he is saying, if people didn't want things like soda and potato chips and cheap beef, then it just wouldn't be produced. If there is not a market for it, then it is wouldn't be here.

I'm going to set the reasoning aside here while we consider some of the other things that we must really, really want... Things like exhorbitant health care costs and NBA players with guns. Things like eight-hour school days and thirty-percent tax brackets. Things like ten-percent unemployment and jobs that pay seven dollars an hour with no benefits. If free market economics is truly the best decision making mechanism that we've got, then it seems to me that we need to get a little bit more excited about things like sweat shops and gang crime and homelessness. Right? Isn't that the way the argument works? If we've got it, then this must be what we're demanding...

While I think that I understand what the farmer is trying to say, I also think that it is not especially imaginative. Essentially, he is saying, Look, give me something more wholesome to do with my time and energy and I'm glad to change my ways. O.K., but is not part of the responsibilty also on the producer and business man or woman? Aren't they supposed to help us with our tastes? Because it sure seems that they spend a lot of time and money trying to influence them. What I mean here is how exactly do things like advertising and lobbying fit into the whole free market thing? How is that the people can be both the data and the the excuse for it?

For example, I recently gathered with a group of people in a Bible study and we were talking about the recent disaster in Haiti and some of the bizzare comments that have come out about the earthquake. We noted that there was certainly some corruption going on down there. While none of us were ready to suggest that the earthquake was connected to this, we did imagine that perhaps something better could rise from the rubble... But as we discussed this, I immediately thought about the lobbying system in our own country. Lobbies are real and they are very powerful. Even though most people would not equate them with corruption, it seems to me that they certainly skew the free market.

Lobbyists do not represent the people. They represent the people who are trying to sell things to the people. Of course, this is perfectly legal in our society but my question is this: don't things like power and influence affect the data? The farmer seems to suggest that someone is holding out a chicken to us. He knows that it is poisonous and he knows that he could offer a better example but also knows he doesn't have to. Because we appear to be quite happy with the poisonous one. Never mind the fact that most of us don't know the difference. Never mind the fact that he's got billboards and radio spots and television ads dolling up that chicken and sitting it next to our favorite movie stars and professional athletes. Never mind that he is paying lobbyists untold millions to make sure that no one ever raises issue over whether or not we should be eating this stuff.

I am not saying that it's not our fault. I'm just saying that it's not really as it seems. It's not ONLY about supply and demand, markets and taste...

"Poison in the Well" 10,000 Maniacs

Tell me what's gone wrong.
I tilt my head there, under the faucet, but when I turn it on -- dry as paper. Call the neighbors.
Who's to blame for what's going on?
In the dark without a clue I'm just the same as you.

O, they tell us there's poison in the well,
that someone's been a bit untidy and there's been a small spill.
Not a lot, no, just a drop.
But there you are mistaken, you know you are.

I wonder just how long they knew our well was poisoned but they let us just drink on.
O, they tell us there's poison in the well,
that someone's been a bit untidy and there's been a small spill.
All that it amounts to is a tear in a salted sea.
Someone's been a bit untidy, they'll have it cleaned up in a week.

But the week is over and now it's grown into years
since I was told that I should be calm, there's nothing to fear here.
But I drank that water for years, my wife and my children.
Tell me, where to now,
if your fight for a bearable life can be fought and lost in you backyard?

O, don't tell us there's poison in the well,
that someone's been a bit untidy, that there's been a small spill.
All that it amounts to is a tear in a salted sea.
Someone's been a bit untidy, they'll have it cleaned up in a week.

Damned if we do

...'But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, "We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we wailed you did not mourn." For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "he has a demon"; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!" Matthew 11:16-19

Jesus gets us, doesn't he? Although I do not know the specific circumstances to which he is speaking here, it is not hard to imagine, is it? We're kinda like this aren't we? We may not know what we want but at least it won't takes us long to get over it.

It was 14 degrees in Charlotte yesterday. The view from the Portico is bleak. So I figure it's either Lou Reed or Tiger Woods. It's been a day or so since I've heard a talking head or read an Internet headline referencing our latest hero turned villian so perhaps it's safe to offer some considerations about this blood bath.

Actually, I did see one blurb about Tiger, it was a quote by Mel Gibson. "I feel sorry for Tiger Woods...Why are we talking about this when we're sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan? ... He's being used as a diversion, and it just drives me crazy."

I came by this via a CNN headline but the link took me to an article that had actually come from "People" Magazine which was apparently quoting Britain's, "Mail on Sunday Live." I will save all that for a warmer day but you might want to go back and read that last sentence just so you can see it in your mind... That's CNN tagging "People" on a juicy connection in which it was citing a lesser known tabloid. In case you're counting, that's fourth-hand news reporting. And what's the news? That would be one recent media-maligned celebrity commenting on another.

Anyway, I liked the quote. Not that the statement is terribly profound but that it is coming from one of the last guys we crucified. It looks like Mel Gibson is still kicking and he has a new revenge movie out so he's either been resurrected or at least sufficiently mutilated to merit our collective satisfaction.

I recently heard someone say that if Tiger would just "confess and repent" then the American people would forgive him. The person was entirely serious--as though Tiger might stand up on public television and tell us all how sorry he is and that by doing this, it will allow us to get back to the good ole days where he is winning and he is our hero. I heard someone else say that Tiger is a Buddhist. Is that right? (I'll check "People.") Anyway, let's set that aside for now. So this must be how it works. We, the attentive public are the new priesthood. Guided by the tabloids, we worship. We learn when to look up and when to look down... When to gather stones for the altar and when to cast them at whoever we've placed upon it...

I suspect that what is really going on here is just some kind of vile consumption--of anything and everything. Celebrities have become both the saviors and the sacrificial lambs of our time...

If i could stick my pen in my heart
And spill it all over the stage
Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya
Would you think the boy is strange? ain't he strange?

If i could win ya, if i could sing ya
A love song so divine
Would it be enough for your cheating heart
If i broke down and cried? if i cried?

I said i know it's only rock 'n roll but i like it...

If i could stick a knife in my heart
Suicide right on stage
Would it be enough for your teenage lust
Would it help to ease the pain? ease your brain?

If i could dig down deep in my heart
Feelings would flood on the page
Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya
Would ya think the boy's insane? he's insane

I said i know it's only rock 'n roll but i like it..
(m. jagger/k. richards)

The Generation X Pop Quiz

It seems like yesterday when the culture was flooded with Baby-Boomer themes. Hippies, Yuppies and Dinks... "The Wonder Years," and "Thirty Something"... Bill Clinton and George W. Bush... Remember when everything was about "them?" Of course, if you're one of them, you probably didn't notice but the rest of us sort of had to suffer through what seemed to be an endless stretch of indulgence.

Occasionally, we'd hear talk of the "next" generation. This, of course, meant people born after the Boomers; Generation X as it has been so affectionately named. These were kids who were known primarily for what they were not. Specifically, they were not part of the greatest generation to have ever graced the planet. Due to their (our) unfortunate point of birth, the expectations have proven to be appropriately low... Low ambition...Low SAT scores... Low standards... In contrast to our energetic elders who seemed to be shaking things up since they came out of the womb, Xers are typically known for our lack of enthusiasm. While the Boomers were collectively making the world after themselves, we have tended to prefer individual sports like playing video games and watching MTV. Although perpetually harangued over the disappointment, prior generations are getting used to the response...Whatever.

This has all been a curious experience for me, perhaps because I was born in 1964--the very year that neither generation wants to claim. Some mark 1964 as the end of the Baby Boomers; others insist it is the beginning of Generation X. And I've got to admit it, at times I have identified with both groups and their respective causes. And now, as the world passes to yet another generation (they've been dubbed The Millennials), I find this whole generation thing a bit overstated. But before we find our world completely turned over to folks who were raised on Barney and Hip Hop, let's revisit the lost generation one last time.

Here is a quiz to see what we know about Generation X. It is not exhaustive and you will have to keep your own score. Disappointed? Shut Up Beavis!

1. What was the first video ever played on MTV? (5 points)

2. Who are the latch-key kids? (3 points)

3. Name one or more members of Nirvana not named Kurt Cobain? (5 points for each)

4. Which of the following were Gen X styles? (5 points if correct, none if incorrect)
a. leather ties
b. plaid shoes
c. flannel shirts
d. a and c
e. all of the above

5. What are the names of the Pacman ghosts? (1 point per correct, minus 1 for wrong answer)

6. Who are Steve, Stephen and Bill? (5 points if entirely correct)

7. Name four films starring Eric Stoltz (1 point per correct)

8. Who were the original MTV VJs (2 points per correct)

9. Name the only Heather who wasn't named Heather? (5 points)

10. What is a Mallrat? (1 point or 5 points)

11. Who taught American History at Ridgemont High? (5 points)

12. True or False: Most Gen Xers are more interested in owning a PC than they are in being PC? (5 points)

13. What are the first and last names of the two main characters of the X-files? (2 points each)

14. What was Jeremy's nickname in the 1991 Pearl Jam hit? (5 points)

15. Name the eight typically cited members of the "Brat Pack." (1 point for every correct)


Answers...
1 "Video Killed The Radio Star" If you didn't get this one, it might be a long quiz
2. The Xers! If you came home from school and no one was there, you might be from my neighborhood
3. Krist (or Chris) Novoselic and one of several drummers but most notably Dave Grohl
4. The answer is E. Gen X fashion included many styles from new wave to grunge
5. Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde [Sue belonged to Ms. Pacman]
6. Steve Jobs, Stephen Wozniak and Bill Gates... These guys are Boomers but most Gen Xers would recognize thier names
7. He was born in 1961 but we will claim him.
8. Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn
9. "Veronica" Winona Ryder works too
10. If you said a kid hanging out at a mall, you get one. If you reference the classic 1995 film, you get five!
11. Mr. Hand!!! Don't ya remember learning about Cuba and having some food? C'mon Dude!
12. True. If you missed this, your not from th th th their generation.
13. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully
14. King Jeremy The Wicked
15. Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy

How did you do?

Above 50: Not Bad
Above 60: Pretty Good
Above 70: Careful Now
Above 80 Whatever