It's Hard to Be an American
In Sunday's New York Times, in the automobile section, there is a rapturous review of a $130,000 Maserati Gran Turismo.
One hundred and thirty thousand dollars and worldwide sales of a mere 8000, for 8000 people one would be uncomfortable breaking bread with. The reviewer loves cars, (as do I, when it comes to say, a creaky old Karmen Ghia or a rusty '68 BMW 2002, both of which I have owned). He writes nicely, in the feverish thrall of a great swoon gliding and surging whilst evocatively plunging through the Italian countryside, listening to Verdi's Aida at full blast. He exults in the experience, writing, cringingly, "this is the way opera should be heard." (In fairness to him, listening to music while driving is a blast, but some of us like the spectacle and ritual of the performance just as much as the sound. And there are still cheap tickets to the opera, and for most of the world, a free ride in Maseratis are unlikely.) As the economic crisis continues to corrode the hopes and daily working lives of men and women and their families across the country, it seems depressingly tone deaf to indulge in the promotion of mad, blind excess. (The magazine section also has yet to really adjust to The Way We Live Now, veering schizophrenically from strong serious reportage to celebrations of $20,000 dollar dresses.) As Detroit lists dangerously into self-made redundancy and stage 4 fiscal cancer, as millions of American still do not have health insurance, as California hovers on the edge of economic catastrophe, the Maserati review seems akin to the tone deaf disconnect of the GOP senators puffing and swanning for the cameras at the Sottomayor hearings. They just don't get it.
It is hard to be an American. I think this more and more lately. Our mainstream culture encourages an anodyne internal shut-off of the heart, and of the senses by which we see and hear that which is real, that which matters. The Mobius-strip like ubiquity of news cycles runs every possible iteration of Michael Jackson's sad death in digital loop. (HuffPost to wit). More money vanishes. Soldiers enlist and go off to war unnoticed, and return, mostly invisible. The notion of national service has yet to catch on as a saving grace. It is hard to be an American. It requires concentration. You have to be able to think about out what it's like to live on a salary of $7.25 an hour, even if you never have to actually have to do it. You have to be able to be concerned for men and women whose jobs are never coming back. If you can, you have to help in some way, through charity, or volunteering, say. You have to be outraged in order to be an American, and you have to be hopeful, and work hard to make this country better, or it is not going to survive.
Salivating over a grotesquely out of sync absurd joke of a vehicle while auto workers sit at their kitchen tables in despair is not acceptable in the America of 2009, if it ever was. Maybe the automotive editors at the Times forgot this week that relevance means nothing without soulfulness and humility. That the Maserati review is another leading indicator of disconnection, as the Times itself hangs at the precipice, while her journalists wait in fear, worrying about what will happen next, is saddening. Especially galling is that it is at a moment when the Times has done much to repair the costly missteps they made at the approach to and onset of the Iraq invasion. The work of Dexter Filkins, Nick Kristoff and Frank Rich alone is almost reason enough to look the other way. Yes, the world is a place of sickening ironic dualities, but still.
It's hard to be an American. For many people, this is a literal truth, born out of staggering unemployment, miserable wage-slavery, privation and homelessness. For others, perhaps the comfortable readers of the Times, say, it takes a little more work. Who amongst us, (and I include myself more than anyone), can say we're actually doing the hard work of being an American? When President Obama spoke of the importance of empathy vis-a-vis a Supreme court nominee, why didn't the literalists who decried that proposition really get what he actually was saying? He was saying, "It's hard to be an American. You have to know what life is really like."
And it ain't like listening to Verdi while on a Tuscan road trip, in a car that costs more than many Americans can ever hope of saving, or even making. There's something seditious and pornographic about it, in fact, in 2009.
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Well said. It is so true what you said. Our society embrace happily the notion of getting theirs, and nothing else matters. But I also would like to add that also, I believe they system in that we live with is flawed, and enhances our ability to shut off. Alot of folks who make good money are struggling with a job and providing for their families. We're almost enslaved to our lifestyle, that we can't even help out other people. And is trying to make a buck off someone. You see glorious lifestyles on tv that you go broke just to have a glimpse. Who in the hell needs to pay $250 for some sunglasses? But you have people who would go broke just to have them. You have a mentality of selfishness amongst the population so severe and flawed. Health care companies are trying to prevent from everyone having Americans to have universal health care, because they want to make a buck, instead of doing the right thing for your fellow human being. It is hard to be an american, because because like you said, despite all the obstacles that we have to go through that promotes selfishness, we have to understand that their our people less unfortunate then ourselves, we must do everything to help another human being, because it's the right thing to do.
"You have to be able to think about out what it's like to live on a salary of $7.25 an hour, even if you never have to actually have to do it"
What about the people who do have to do it? They have so little representation in the media, in the government, anywhere. It is as if these people are invisible, even while they are growing as a group.
If you are living off of minumum wage you must be in high school or have done nothing to better yourself other than finish High School. There are colleges and trade schools. Do something and stop complaining.
You are vastly uneducated on the issues to make such a misguided statement. Step out of that fantasy you live in. Reality is not pretty all the time, however there is reassurance that what you experience is real.
So easy and insulting to blithly post this comment. Heartless, arrogant, unfeeling and unable to realize the difficulty of living below the poverty line.
With a quick republican wave of the hand, its THEIR fault they haven't taken advantage of everything the upper classes have handed to them.
Why didn't you just post "let them eat cake" and be done with it.
"...The Times has done much to repair the costly missteps they made at the approach to and onset of the Iraq invasion."
Powerful elites and their public organs, like the New York Times, wanted the Iraq War very, very badly. After 4,330 dead and almost 32,000 wounded - physically, at least - we have to realize some things can't be repaired.
Or forgiven...
You are a bit hard on yourself here, Jon. You've done a fine job of stirring up comments, and that is to be commended. Carry on.
I'm a fairly sensitive person, and yet I've never felt even the slightest hint of the pressures you refer to. I can actually be aware that others are suffering and have a hard time of it without losing focus on what is important to me. I can accept that some people want to buy a very expensive vehicle (or house, or clothing) without putting a value judgment on that. While it's often hard to be a good human being, I've lived in other countries, and believe me it's absurdly - almost obscenely - easy to be an American.
"It could be worse."
"It could be so much better."
Really? That easy, huh?
I think that a lot of people complain about the times and point to better times when they could live in. Sure, these are harsh times with jobs, recession etc. However, when taken in a global context, an American has it easier than a person from most countries. It is true that we are wasteful and need to be careful. Everyone does not like the changing of the guard and we want business as usual. People are terrified of change. As any country gets to the top, it is worried about losing its power. See what is happening to Britain, it is slowly adjusting to becoming yet another country and is not an empire any longer.
In many ways, this is a wonderful time to live in, where it is a smaller world and information is easily available to those who seek it and use it well. Nobody is going to serve it to your doorstep. In 1950s, US was a top country due to multiple reasons. People were hardworking and more importantly, the economy of Europe was in shambles. Now, however the world is catching on and a lot of Europe and importantly Asia is fighting back economically. It is hard to say this, but relatively speaking, we are not working smart enough. Education does not have priority anymore among the average American.
This article illustrates perfectly what's wrong with America - a massive, overgrown sense of self. If people are losing their jobs (you're not, writer), living in poverty (you're not), dying in war (you're not), then why not focus your energies on helping to fix these problems rather than moaning about how hard it is to be near them? It isn't about you, as one American - it's about America, as one America. Maybe then you'll get it right.
What a surprisingly mean-spirited comment! Are only unfortunate people allowed to remark on misfortune? I'd say this essay reflects appropriate thoughtfulness, an ability to see past one's own experience and to express what is seen -- strengths writers cultivate, whether they are successful or not.
Mr. Baitz isn't talking about himself. He's talking about a schism between style and circumstance.
The big media outlets are still working for their advertisers. That means features on Maseratis and Hamptons real estate at a time when the paper itself is being used to stuff jackets for warmth.
Heather, I suggest considering this: are we better off if first-hand experience is the only way to legitimacy? Or can we gain insight through observation and communication? I suggest the latter is true. If I write a female character, although I'm not female, that shouldn't disqualify my character, should it?
Likewise, just because somebody has a show on television doesn't disqualify him from speaking to common experience. It is even possible, given his profession revolves around the moving expression of other people's lives, he is more qualified than most.
I take something completely different away from this article than you do. I think what the author is stating has to do with keeping our priorities straight in an all too frivolous environment. I love the creative endeavors that flow through our American culture and society. I love the melting pot and the way people can speak their mind and even our elaborate systems to maintain the rule of law. What I think Obama is good at framing is what lies at the bottom of all of that. Its not consumption. We are not the sum of what we buy. We are consumers but we are citizens first and foremost and when we are bombarded with messages that our highest aspiration should be to shop, people may find it "hard" to resist that mindset.
If you're not aware of it...it doesn't exist. I think I'm tired of the rich moaning and whining about why the less fortunate aren't more like us.
I see what you guys are saying, and I hope I understand it, but I still think he's kind of whingeing rather than doing something useful. Perhaps I just expect too much pragmatism.
It's hard to be an American, enduring " the Mobius-strip like ubiquity of news cycles runs every possible iteration..." (of cultural vapidity.) "It's hard to be an American, it requires concentration." Really?
I'd rather be driving the Maserati listening to Verdi. As for the American dream, keep dreaming.
GOSH IF ITS HARD TO BE AN AMERICAN WHATS IT LIKE TO BE AN AFRICAN?
Seriously! Let's talk for 5 seconds about how the financial crisis has shattered the hopes of the developing world, after we forced them to base all of their economic policy off the IMF and World Bank!
The disonnect here is what we are supposed to be and what we are. People like those posting here and boasting how we are the greatest country in the wotld, need to walk down our boulevards and actually look at the homeless and the forgotten.
Hey, I got mine, why can you get yours, ya big loser!
I'll tell you what's hard about being an American:
It's enduring eight years of a trough-feeding bonehead and his crony leadership-- and finally sparking a "voting revolution" and seeing people mobilize in a fervor not seen for generations to vote in someone new, articulate, and capable. It's voting for a whole new power base in the Senate and House. It's an obvious and unmistakeable repudiation of everything the previous Administration stood for.
And you know what the hard part is? It's seeing the new Majority, voted into sweeping power the likes of which the opposition could have only dreamed of --a sea change that made their 1994 "Revolution" look like a teaspoon in a sea-- it's watching the new Adminstration become spineless lapdogs to everything the GOP whines about; caving in to Corporate bigwigs and carrying on "business as usual". The old guard is simply replaced with a new guard; the only difference is that different corporations are lining thier pockets.
We have wasted our time, our votes, and our opportunity. That's what's so hard about being an American today.
Agreed. Well said.
Great post.
I'm also deeply disappointed in the change that wasn't, and won't be unless some bold changes are made that won't be popular -at all- with the likes of Faux News & Rush Limbaugh. But they'd be good for our country thats still being run by blood-sucking greedy corporations only interested in their share prices...And its just a dream that we could get the tentacles of the banking industry out of our treasury dept. & the Fed.
No honest effort is ever wasted. Every mistake educates. You now know that it's up to the people to enact change. Why do the Europeans enjoy health care and other benefits? Because their leaders are better?
No. It's because they go to the streets, picket and strike to force their leaders to obey the will of the people.
As long as Americans remain dependent on their, so-called, leaders for "change," they'll continue to see their efforts as wasted.
Yep. That's making it harder.
I am afraid you are so right, Canis. You have expressed what I have been thinking for some time. I am at a point where I just want to hide away and give up as a voting citizen. It is hard to be an American when I thought I helped vote into office major, progressive change.
The Republicans have no "heart" and, as it turns out, the Democrats have no "spine" or "balls" for that matter.
The leaders with no "heart" will most likely be the majority party again soon. And the few Republicans that are in Congress now are, in actuality, still in control thanks to the Democrats themselves.
At this point in time, it is certainly hard to be an American. I doubt I will be voting again.
Thank you. It's about what we could be and what we have become.
I really wouldn't want a car that cost that much. I would be afraid to tell you the truth. I think when you talk about Americans there are us we the people Americans-- and then there are the people that are in charge of America. Two different kinds of American. Linda
Puhhhleeezzz! It's one stinking article about one stinking car. I love sports cars and I enjoy reading about cars I will never own. The same issue of the Times also carried a lovingly written article about village pubs closing in England. Yet the article made no mention of the relationship between pubs and alcoholism and domestic violence. What Jon Baitz is talking about is SIN not something illegal or unethical. Save SIN for the Sunday sermon, Rev. Baitz.
It's hard to be an American. For many people, this is a literal truth, born out of staggering unemployment, miserable wage-slavery, privation and homelessness.
What a bunch of pompass asses! Staggering unemployment? Staggering with 15% unemployment means 85 out of 100 DO HAVE JOBS. Not great but certianly not staggering unemployment. Miserable wage-slavery? Most people BELOW the poverty line have bedrooms, baths, cable tv and many with cell phones. Poverty is out there but education and training can bring one out of poverty.
Study after study says personal giving by liberals is way lower than on the conservative side. No brag, just fact. I wonder what kind of house the author owns? What kind of retirement account this author of tv programs has set away? This guy fits the perfect bill of Rush Limbaugh's term: drive by media. Writes his post, feels good about himself and then off to brunch with his agent.
Let me get this straight, you think that an adult working for $7.25 an hour does not qualify as "miserable wage-slavery" because most people below the poverty line have BEDROOMS(?!), BATHS(!), CABLE TV AND SOMETIMES CEL PHONES??
Yes, that's the American dream, a room to sleep in, a room to urinate in, a hundred channels of advertising to watch, and a cel phone.
Sir. You have obviously never been poor - and good for you. But your lack of empathy for those who actually have been, or are poor, is shocking.
Your exact attitude is what this guy is talking about. These folks are supposed to count their lucky stars for having a job which does not cover health care, and which only very barely pays for their very basic needs PLUS cable tv (those lucky duckies). And when your conservative buddies rock by in their Maseratis, they're just supposed to say, well, I guess I didn't work hard as hard as that guy, cause he's driving around in five years of my salary.
"Most people BELOW the poverty line have bedrooms, baths, cable tv and many with cell phones."
I'm curious where you get this idea. You need a security deposit, plus first month's and last month's rent for an apartment, not to mention the credit check. Lotta cheddar up front. Cable TV naturally requires a residence and a credit check. Cell phones, ditto, tho you can get prepaid for an exorbitant markup.
10% of 300 million is a lot of unemployed -- plus the the number is likely underreported, as it comes from people receiving unemployment and does not include those not receiving it, either because they ran out or they don't think they need it (yet).
Unemployment and a lousy economy are bad for my business. People don't have money to give me when they're shelling out 1/3 for too-high residence costs, 1/3 for too-high gas, and 1/3 for too-high health care. I'll gladly pay a slightly higher tax for an Administration whose policies will yield me a much greater slice of revenue pie.
10% of those who have run not through their benefits and are still classified as unemployed are the ones actually counted.
Besides 10% of 300 million is STILL 30 MILLION PEOPLE!
Huh? America is about freedom. Be productive, play by the rules, and be free. The rest of that crap has nothing to do with being "American".
it's hard to swallow the lies being fed to us by politicians who are on the corporate lobby dole...
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