In many ways, America’s cultural ‘success’ thus far has been one of Quantity at the expense of Quality. Its sheer size, volume and vast natural resources have made ‘mediocrity’ good enough to make many people wealthy beyond their inherent capabilities.
For example, many immigrants were not near the ‘best’ of their given jobs (trade, craft, etc.) and therefore, did not do very well financially in their own countries. By legally emigrating to the United States, (thereby investing tremendous risk and displaying enormous courage), many people from foreign lands were able to make much better livings through the sheer volume of work (due to scarcity) with energetic efforts of basic availability in lieu of the “old country” competence and/or quality that they may have been lacking.
Much of the entrepreneurship and innovation was intentionally directed at and for people who did not know any better nor have an abundance of options at best or were underestimated at worst. I am certainly not being critical of anyone knowing the marketplace and developing the inventions that people wanted, needed and could afford but many times, they were intentionally disrespected/manipulated instead of being educated. I think most of that success was created and directed at “mass marketing” and “planned obsolescence” but not as “best-in-class.” When push came to shove, the dollar was always the “almighty” and we chose commercial/industrial ‘prostitution’ over the ‘perfection’ of products/services as the guiding force.
Take “American” Food for example, please take it AWAY from me! 😊 Seriously, what are some of the ‘cuisines’ developed by and for the USA? “Fast Food” is probably what we are best known for. KFC, Taco Bell, Burger King, Pizza Hut, etc., Etc., ETC.! When many other cultures hear, think or know about stuff like artificial preservatives, ‘nuggets,’ white bread, sugary drinks/cereals, iceberg lettuce, processed cheese or anything deep-fried (like twinkies), they are inclined to wretch. I’m not only talking about just rich, first-world countries but many poorer yet wiser countries that believe “one is what one eats.”
What about American music? Our ‘styles’ include folk, bluegrass, jazz, blues, rock and country. I honestly believe that they are genuine and sincere genres that accurately express the experiences of their various regions. I am not really sure how they measure up against the qualitative production of classical music or opera, however. While adolescent boys lose their hearing over three-chord heavy metal in their garage band superstar dreams, how does that compare to the violinist in Japan practicing musical scales?
Sports is another contrasting endeavor. We like the surrogate war-like game on football fields while Chinese practice acrobatic gymnastics, Koreans practice martial arts and French perfect ballet. Chubby Checker doing the “twist” anyone? The point is that mostly all of our arts, games and hobby activities are geared for quick, external, material payout (“pop” music?) while many other cultures focus on a longer-term gratification of the “inner” self and a specific qualitative benefit. Is it yoga or Pilates? Shakespeare or “A Chorus Line?” Is it meditation or reality TV? Like they say: television is a “medium” that is “rarely” “well done.”
We can also talk about cars. Our claim to fame is the Model T evolving into 2-ton, gas guzzling land yachts that die after 75,000 miles. That was before we learned the excessively hard/expensive (market share) lesson/punishment of the Arab Oil Embargo and the Malcolm Baldridge Quality “C”-Change. Meanwhile the Italians at Ferrari were creating 200-miles-per-hour works of “art”. The Germans at Mercedes-Benz were making indestructible ‘tanks’ that last forever. Of course our Traffic Laws for American Roads are designed for the lowest common (driving-ability) denominator. Like they used to say: for people who got their driver’s license at SEARS!
How about fashion? I am not criticizing practicality in clothing, but the emphasis always seems to be about ripping people off based on their own psychological insecurities. Otherwise, how could money be made at an “outlet” store selling something for $9.99 that had an original retail ‘list’ price and sold for $99.99 and the exclusive boutique? American fashion established the “cowboy” look of rugged, denim, western wear. Close behind is that durable, ‘outdoorsy’ look of L.L. Bean. Let us not forget the beachcomber look of surfer shorts and flip-flops. Not quite Gucci or Chanel for sure. Nor can I imagine a Thom McCann ‘plastic’ shoe store franchise in Scandinavia where only a couple pairs of long-lasting, high-quality genuine leather footwear are standard ‘issue.’
Our biggest economic contribution to the world is that we have ‘infected’ its values with our “quantity-at-the-expense-of-quality” mentality. The good news is that we may be coming to the end of this era. Whether by free will choice or just being subconscious, I do not feel that people are willing to accept much more of the Dumbed Down versions of ANYTHING anymore.
Technology, Communication and Transportation advances have all contributed to the widespread increases in our collective awareness of a multitude of options. You no longer have to live in/travel to Chinatown in order to order dim sum. The provolone cheese and the Genoa salami is hanging at the local Boar’s Head counter. Thanks to Starbucks, we do not have to settle for less-than-$4-a-cup coffee. How did people ever drink the “World’s Best” diner coffee for 25 cents-a-cup over all those generations? (sarcasm intended).
Likewise, thanks to satellite radio, cable TV and wi-fi everything, we have unlimited access to music, dance, sports and theatre from around the globe. I am actually thinking of erecting a white “Bollywood” sign on the hill behind my house. (facetiousness intended). And if we are not satisfied with second-hand, one-or-two-dimensional ‘quality,’ we can travel pretty much anywhere to see things in person for ourselves. The point here is simple, the days of ‘targeting’ the “lowest common denominator” in order to exploit humanity is coming to an end. Full and total access to all information is enabling an era of common “sensors” to call “bullshit” on all of the purveyors of bullshit and the new reality of ‘awareness’ is closing in on them very rapidly.
As such, the average Josephine will use critical thinking, deductive reasoning and creative problem solving to basically ignore the so-called expert elites and decide for themselves without any bogus ‘influence.’ For example, I do not believe that something like the “Warren Commission Report” on the assassination of President Kennedy would ever pass muster in 2025. The biggest problem is NOT the basic taxpayer being fooled anymore, rather it is the attempting “foolers” who do not realize that everyone now sees through them as the pure, unadulterated, bald-faced ‘spinners’/liars that they are. They are, in fact, the LAST to know that they do not get the ‘joke’…BECAUSE it is on THEM!
This realization may actually be the most actionable in the political ‘arena.’ Politicians (AND the NON-“Journalistic” Media) have traditionally been the best ‘exaggerators’/liars about actual truths and can put Hollywood actors to shame with their abilities to deliver convincing performances. The most important difference, however, is that theatrical audiences are there to be entertained and understand they are there witnessing a dramatic performance. Voters, who were once fooled into thinking that candidates were sincerely, authentically and genuinely there to ‘help’ the constituents, now realize that this too, is all just a big ‘act.’ So, the future belongs to the truth-sayers: those who respect and trust those audiences who are smart enough to refuse to take ‘dumbed-down’ information/promises as fact when in reality, is just pure fiction.