The Character of a Nation
I never really had to fight for anything resembling a noble cause or suffer under a particularly oppressive authority (unless you count my summer as a pimply stockboy stacking cases of tuna fish and soda at a supermarket. I was like Solzenitzen with a price gun).
I am a male, so I am automatically keyed into the dominant patriarchal social mechanism; I am white, so I am the beneficiary of centuries of European aggression and xenophobic imperialism; I am a Jew in America who has never encountered anti-Semitism; I make a living in my chosen field and occasionally soak my aching ego in the intoxicating, highly addictive broth of celebrity. I have known some tragedy, some difficulty. But I have a great, loving, growing family and I am, for all practical purposes, healthy.
In short, I got it good.
But it doesn't mean I can't recognize injustice when I see it. My being a lucky bastard doesn't mean I am not qualified to despise tyranny, brutality or just plain assholery. It's all around, it's societally endemic and has been for years. It started in earnest when air traffic controllers had their solar plexuses kicked in and it's continued steadily since, whittling down the little guy to krill proportions, eroding the middle class to a virtual shrivel and carving a widening chasm between those that work like dogs and those that live like kings.
And along the way, instilling the idea into new, impressionable generations that it's bloody okay. As the kids like to text: WTF???
Intelligent Design aside, our highly evolved senses can still detect danger and deception despite attempts to distract and dissuade us from trusting our guts. And those guts should be thrumming with the realization that the real war going on isn't in Eye-Rack, it's not between the East and the West or bellicose political parties or creaky religions. The real war is ultimately one of character and the difference described by those who rally round a "One for all and all for one!" banner and those who intone "Winning isn't everything---it's the only thing" while genuflecting in front of a bust of Ronald Reagan. Two arguably simplistic and divergent philosophies that function beautifully when used in appropriate circumstances.
This strike is not about elitist wannabe Shakespeares who've never worked a decent day in their lives demanding free money for sitting in front of a computer, as any silver-tongued opponent would have you think. It is about people -- artisans -- being rightfully compensated for their product, pure and simple. And the way of world, thanks to the unrepentant capitalistaholics, is to spit on that idea, to deride anything that impedes the flow of profit, that slows the rush they get when the low class, grubby resistance is crushed. It's that blatant. And it's present everywhere, not just in the writers' struggle. It's present in the auto workers' struggle in the teachers' struggle in the emergency responders' struggle in the soldiers' struggle in the taxpayers' struggle in the voters' struggle.
The struggle of the simple character of the common citizen to make a decent wage versus the dissipated character of the controller who sits in the corporate headquarters and who's forgotten the taste of the loam that forms its foundation.
It's the shiftiness of the lobbyist, whoring out his services for a hunk of the corporate pie versus the decent toiler who has to make do with the crumbs.
It's the politicians who, from on high, survey the citizenry as pitiless courtiers, survey their degraded minions.
And you know and I know the writer's strike is not about four more cents. It's about character.
And if this strike is broken, so breaks the character of a nation.
Read more about the strike on the Huffington Post's writers' strike page.
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We need to get our peice of the pie. For too long, those with the money made the rules. money is leverage. But what they forget is, we make the product. Writers put ideas into words that inform and entertain. If the producers think we will put up with American Idol and Deal or No Deal for infinity are nuts.
There is a similar story regarding hard goods. So much of what we consime comes from other coutries. China comes to mind. we are told that this will result in lower prices. What these mental midgets forget is that I can't afford their products at any price because the stuff is made overseas and I no longer have a job. No money, no shopping.
where do these morons think stuff comes from?
Steven, I have always enjoyed your work as an actor, but did not have any idea you were such a gifted writer and social thinker until I read your blogs. I think you should write a national column . Keep up the excellent work .
You, dear sir, are a better writer than anyone has a right to be. I have enjoyed your posts.
(Perhaps "enjoy" is not the best word, as they are often depressing, but it is the word I've chosen.)
Thanks for bringing good reading material our way.
It really doesn't matter what kind of career you choose, because we live in a winner takes all society. The income distribution in any profession is much the same.
Right now the working class is copeting with workers in China and the middle class is comepeting with workers in India. Soon all paychecks will be the same worldwide.
Oh YES.
Bravo! You are absolutely correct. It's time Americans realized it's not about "things", it's about character! Thanks for an inspiring piece of writing!
For all of the drivel foisted on us by airheaded sitcoms over the years, much more enduring as been the contribution to the shift in national consciousness accorded to us by the extremely good writers of All in the Family, Maude, Mary Tyler Moore, Cheers, Frasier, Will and Grace, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report--and that's just the comedies. The THINKING of Americans on social issues has progressed unimaginably due to writers of television, probably more from that than any other factor. This is the milieu from which has sprang forth a man like Weber who turns out to be a KICK-ASS writer as well as a actor.
I say pay the writers well for ALL of their work. I would bet that on a percentage of income basis, they are some of the biggest givers-back of any industry--way more than the producers. And let's not forget that the MEDIAN income of a member of the WGA is no where a living wage.
The vast majority do not make in the hundreds of thousands--they land two or three jobs a year if they're lucky--just like actors. Don't judge the majority based on the blessed top 10% And those at the top? They often work 60-80 hour weeks. No one can sustain that over a lifetime.
I am not a viewer of most sit-coms, tv dramas or reality tv shows. I mostly watch news on tv. Now that the strike is on I limited my viewing to just a few tv news shows. Why aren't the news writers on strike? What would happen to our talking heads if they also went on strike? Would Katie, Charlie or the other network and local heads know what to say, let alone what day it is? I support the writer's strike and their effort to be justly compensated for their work. I had a misconception of what writers are like and what they make for a living. They are not the one's living high on the hog but in most cases are just making ends meet living from one script tot the next hoping they catch a show that lasts for more than the pilot.
What a great article. I was intrigued by the fact that you acknowledged the simple truth that because you are a white man in this country you have had it good for a long time. It takes guts to admit that to the world these days. Bravo!!!
On the other hand, I am a female, so I have a few bones to pick with society. I earn 25 less income than the man sitting next to me in the same job in the USA and every 15 seconds, a woman just like me in this great male-dominated nation gets the shit beaten out of her by a man. Every 90 seconds, another sister of mine in America gets raped. But I'm one of the lucky ones, because I've survived without showing narry a scar.
I am also a Democrat, so I have a few more bones to pick with our great nation. Why do we keep electing religious oil barons to rule this great land? Are we surprised that the price of oil has gone through the roof? Are we that stupid or is it that we just hate the color of green? Do we just love fighting for Texas tea?
Lastly, on a more positive note, I am filled with hope for the first time in a long time that a woman might serve as President. Yet, I'm discouraged to hear that most married men in this country won't vote for her. So much for progress.
I am even more astounded to think that a lot of women won't vote for her either.
If a man had never been elected as President in this country, but a man, even a retarded man, was finally on the ballot for the first time in history, men would crawl to that voting booth and elect him. Maybe that's why men continue to dominate us. They know how to prioritize better than we do. I'm hoping women get a clue before the next election.
Steve should concentrate on writing more. This is about as good as can be presented. I second his motion.
Hmmm. How does one shape a set of national values: Values based on the recognition that the commonwealth is important to the good of all, even the elite. Then it would be possible to shape consensual policies that work -- work for the good of oneself and one's neighbors. In this values based world, conservativism is one side of the coin and liberalism is the other. Thoughtfulness, and the recognition that what's good for you and me is also good for each of us, would be valued. In a world shaped this way, communal values with a dash of greed, family values with individual choice, efficiencies of scale with local control, the recognition of the earth as a living organism within and upon whose goodness and viability we depend (whether one believes in god and the bible or not)--all these would be recognized as concepts of value. All of the current partisan bullshit is built on anger and can be a huge distraction from what is needed. How about coming up with some clear ideas and strategies to shape the values we need to go forward.
Something is terribly wrong when citizens pay more taxes than Wall Street.
I brought that up because for some people the issue of priority is taxes. Not the price of gas and food---not the fact the general public is earning less and working more hours.
Something is terribly wrong with the THINKING or I should say NOT THINKING in our country. The public has been told how to think by the MEDIA and their commentators so much the public forgot how to think for themselves.
Wanting healthcare for everyone then you called a socialist by those who want you to back away from an issue that is probably as important as eating and sleeping.
That is how easy it is for the public to be manipulated so easily. The words al QUida and and Bin Ladin got people fired up to vote for GWB who actually ignored warnings prior to 911 and didn't keep us SAFER. GET REAL I SAY
The US tortures people and commits war crimes, and a little recalcitrance in labour negotiations is an injustice?
The real test of our nation's character is about bringing justice to those who've been on the recieving end of injustice. The writer's strike is about bringing justice to a group of people who've always been relegated to the background, and made to suffer inequality in pay and benefits while studio execs grow fat and rich, with a golden parachute tucked away just in case he makes a million dollar screw-up.
The fight for justice isn't a walk in the park, and if the writers can stick to their guns, the entire studio system may get a good (and well deserved) shaking up, which would benefit not only the writers, but the audience as well.
Excellent post, Mr. Weber. Thanks for your interesting insights.
I think it's ironic that you write about the character of a nation, when the addictive broth of celebrity has so much power to shape the flavor of the whole soup. We are what we eat, and we feast so heartily. Yet when we peer into the kitchens we find no conductor, a deaf orchestra, not even a scent of Grandma's tried and true cherry dessert.
I can always have a side of ewtn pancakes, since it seems the networks can't quite concoct a better syrup...bu
Those mighty pens could form the dialogue of a strong nation, this break over quibbles and bits could have a hint of divine intent. Stop, savor, hold off your whining over spilled ink, and listen. The gifted coming together over money? I'll never believe it. Reinvent, I dare you.
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