Douglas Holt and James Twitchell
Yo Doug,
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StumbleUponWe're coming to the end of the road, my friend. Maybe this is a good place to stop.
You wrote:
The net result, I think, is that we end up relying less on political systems and community interactions to resolve such tensions. Instead, we "act out" through consuming. Interestingly, the social movements that attack these issues--the Greens, Act Up, anti-free traders, simple livers--increasingly voice their politics through consumption (e.g., the "jamming" of Nike's customized shoe design feature on their Web site, as reported in the Village Voice a few months ago).
OK, now is there any chance that this acting out of differences via consumption may make the world a teenie bit better, a bit safer, maybe even more fair?
The Wall Street Journal reported on its front page a year ago that the Swedes, who keep up on this kind of data, say that the world seems, and is, relatively peaceful. One reason is that robust economies have given prospective foot soldiers something better to do--namely, go shopping. Russell Belk has even coined a term for this version of pax Americana: pax McDonald's.
Doesn't sound very tasty, but I'd rather have somebody after my French fries than after my soul.
Now not everyone would agree. In A Nation of Salesmen, Earl Shorris, a reformed ad man who writes for Harper's, bemoans the fact that we are resolving problems via consumption. Here's what he says: "It may be a lack of imagination on my part but I cannot conceive of a great host of people trudging across all of Europe, willing to fight and die in a crusade on behalf of the videocassette player. Nor does it seem likely to me that anyone would be willing to die on the cross for the suits of Giorgio Armani or the scents of Chanel."
Yet when you think of the role politics and religion have played in building a deep and loving relationship between peoples, perhaps mindless consumption doesn't seem so bad. I know the market has nasty side effects--those wicked externalities--but so does a little high-altitude bombing and racial cleansing. I'm not saying it's either/or, but only that the commercialization of transactions may have a sunny side.
You get the last word. Take it.
Best wishes, and prancing with you has been fun.
Jim
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[Notes from the Fray Editor: Let's talk about coffee. Joseph Britt., below, was just one of many--follow the thread, and consider the question of tipping the barista. He still had time to discuss milk, here, too. And Brendan Herlihy took on ice-cream here. Neill Hamilton is looking for more "dissent, anger, blood feuds... I want the people writing in the Breakfast Table to open up life long vendettas" here (he always is, he's the Breakfast Table's official trouble-maker), but Richard Walrath enjoyed the banter: "it's almost like being there with the third cup of coffee."]
We're really talking about two different things here, aren't we? Coffee, and then all the froofy coffee-influenced liquid dessert-style beverages that take up most of the space on coffee house menus. I have nothing against the latter (because making fun of them is always a good time), but coffee is a really serious subject. If you're going to drink something nearly every day, it might as well be good. This is why I've never understood all the sneering condescension directed at Starbucks. Pre-Starbucks, most coffee served in public places was awful--you were ahead of the game if you ordered came out hot, caffeinated and with no taste at all. OK, most coffee served in public places is still awful, but with Starbucks you at least have the choice of having a good cup of coffee.
I confess I think Starbucks is slipping, based on extensive research I've done at the Minneapolis Airport. They used to offer a rotation of different coffees--Sumatra, Mocha Java, even New Guinea--but now seem to mostly serve up a couple of blends with names like "European" and "Christmas." Talk about your brand marketing. Also they routinely serve the coffee so hot you wonder if there is something wrong with the water they're using.
--Joseph Britt
(To reply, click here.)
Maybe the students in Mr. Twitchell's anecdote couldn't tell good poetry from bad without guidance, but this doesn't strike me as being universally true. Poetry isn't my thing, but music is, and I have no trouble separating the good from the bad using only my own ears. If there wasn't something intrinsic in good art, we wouldn't, over time, have come to a general agreement about the relative worth of, say, Mozart vs. Salieri.
--Chloe Pajerek
(To reply, click here.)
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