(Previously posted at Jonestown)
George Ritzer’s The McDonaldization of Society brings to light an alarming trend in our country. The new United States is a land of generic shortcuts, where efficiency and knowable responses have displaced the authenticity that once made the American dream seem possible. We want to live convenient and predictable lives, like a Super-Sized Extra Value Meal.
McDonaldization is not limited to the products we buy or the food we eat. Its greasy sluggishness bleeds into our civic arena, too, clogging the channels that once energized a free-flowing democracy, polluting the deep waters where healthy dissent once swam. Now shallow sound bites wade through the sticky swamps of public dialog, salting over sovereignty with shimmering distractions.
Enter the McDonaldized the citizen.
As everyone grows more apathetic, apathy itself becomes the stylish norm. It’s socially acceptable, when discussing politics or world affairs, to boast proudly that we have no clue what the hell we are talking about. Equipped with suitable sound bites, and confident we can recite them numbly without being called “dumb,” we pardon ourselves from making any sort of informed contribution to important debates.
Consider the “War on Drugs,” funded by special interests, but waged mainly by armies of alarmists who put little thought into the passion behind their opinions. When I argue with the anti-drug ilk, I am baffled by how little they’ve bothered to learn about a topic they seem so invested in. Usually, they have not the faintest clue about the science of drugs, or about what biologically is going on inside a human body as it reacts to a substance. They know neither the chemical compositions of drugs, nor the chemical distinctions between them. They know so little in the way of facts, it’s a wonder they feel entitled to have an opinion at all.
Still, they keep rolling down that hill, like a big boulder overcome by inertia. One of my favorite arguments against legalization is the “nanny state rhetoric” we so often hear from McDonaldized citizens burping it up.
The crux of “nanny state rhetoric” is to declare “wars” on things deemed scary, in order to protect “the people.” In the war on drugs, nanny-state rhetoric holds that we can no longer call drug use a victimless crime. The new doublespeak paints drug users as predators, preying on themselves. Since drugs are allegedly harmful, you are now your own victim if you decide to dabble in them. Drug statutes, then, including anti-marijuana laws, are put in place to protect us from ourselves.
Predictably, the gullible McDonaldized citizen sides with whichever camp can afford more media advertising. In this case, Budweiser and Phillip Morris happen to have more political clout than potheads and poets. Thus, we are protected from the horrors of cottonmouth. And if that doesn’t make you feel safe and warm inside, then you must be a terrorist. Why else wouldn’t it comfort you to know the law’s out there, protecting you from yourself, promising to punish your “id” should it ever threaten your super-ego?
What isn’t the state “protecting” us from these days?
I’m not really into drugs, anymore, but I do have a stubborn sweet tooth. My gut keeps expanding, and I worry that one day my girlfriend will ditch me for a skinnier dude. Damn all these Twinkies and Swiss Cake Rolls, incessantly tempting me to victimize myself! What are my chances of scoring some protection against them as well? Tons of people die each year from health conditions exacerbated by shitty diets. Think of all the lives we’d save by shutting down Little Debby permanently, and by fining fatsos who exceed their recommended daily calorie intakes.

But the same logic that keeps pill-poppers behind bars sounds asinine when applied outside the happy meal box, doesn’t it? The McCitizen is baffled and speechless, but not so much that critical thought is considered. Not so much that they realize the obvious. Regurgitating the “protection from oneself” litany doesn’t mean one actually cares about drug users, any more than a yellow ribbon bumper sticker shows genuine “support” for “our troops.” These shenanigans are just rituals of “replacement citizenship,” formalities that denote that one cares, while letting him dodge the hassle of actually doing so.
If Ronald McCitizen did care about drug users or U.S. soldiers, he’d educate himself regarding their respective predicaments. But what the McCitizen really wants is to live on in blissful ignorance, regurgitating Civics 101 sound bites that purge reality from the record like Al Gore votes.
Were they to invite reason back into the discussion, they’d find a nuanced reality not accessible in biased 30-second TV ads. They’d find that, in the real world, many Americans have very productive relationships with substances popularly labeled as “drugs.” The more educated we are, collectively, the less likely our keg-party narratives will end up as horror stories in D.A.R.E. manuals. Even health experts like Dr. Andrew Weil acknowledge that the “problem” lies not with drugs themselves, but with the “bad relationships” misinformed users develop with them.
And let’s not forget that when it comes to self-destructive personalities, the risks aren’t limited solely to activities that wealthy elites haven’t found a way to profit from. For every heroine overdose, countless lives are destroyed by completely legal addictions to alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, gambling, sex, even shopping! When a person forms an unhealthy alliance to any of these vices, nothing further poisons their relationship like the stamp of social disapproval, the self-imposed guilt and shame that accompanies being labeled a “drug addict.”
Ironically, drug users and soldiers do have at least one thing in common: their fates are prearranged for them by influential corporations. Iraq meant big bucks for the oil industries, the military hospitality industry, and all the other no-bid contracts awarded to inefficient war-profiteers as paybacks for election favors. Legalization would mean increased economic competition against the very powerful alcohol and tobacco industries, both of whom deploy powerful lobbyists and fund handsomely the “War on Drugs” campaign. To these industries, the risks are dire—increased competition in the stress reduction and party-drug business. How many law-abiding partiers would prefer the peaceful haze of marijuana to the chaotic blur of foot-in-mouth alcoholism, drunk drivers swerving outside the bars, mornings without memories? Who knows; Anheuser-Busch sure doesn’t want to find out. Better to keep feeding propaganda mills than to acknowledge realities and let the “free market” do it’s thing. That goes not just for those who benefit from disinformation, but also for the shortcut-hungry McCitizens who won’t remove their comfy blindfolds.

Posted in Al Gore, Andrew Weil, Anheuser-Busch, D.A.R.E., War on Drugs, advertisements, alcohol, drugs, lobbyists, media, support our troops, tobacco | Tagged George Ritzer, McDonaldization, McDonald's, Freud, Sigmund Freud, drugs, Little Debby, alcohol, tobacco, lobbyists | 2 Comments »
Posted in Barack Obama, Ehud Olmert, George W. Bush, Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon, Lebanon War, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Palestine, Politics, USA, Zionism, culture, current events, terrorism, war | Tagged George W. Bush, USA, Politics, Barack Obama, culture, war, Jordan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, terrorism, Europe, Israel, Judaism, Jews, Nazis, appeasement, Zionism, Ehud Goldwasser, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Hamas, Ehud Olmert, Jerusalem, Samir Kuntar, Syria, Tom Segev, Mark Regev, Middle East, McClatchy, Mossad, Ahmded Yassin, Khaled Mashaal, Palestine, Lebanon War, Eldad Regev, Hassan Nasrallah | No Comments »

Although Budweiser may still be brewed in Missouri, profits will go to Belgium and Brazil. So much for the King of Beers. Continue Reading »
Posted in Business, Capitalism, Money, economics | Tagged USA, beer, alcohol, Business, Capitalism, Money, economics, Missouri, Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser, InBev, Claire McCaskill, Belgium, Brazil, dollar | 3 Comments »
The very old struggle with mundane tasks, much like the very young. Or maybe it’s just Senator John McCain.

An infant in diapers feels no particular need to use a toilet. It’s more convenient simply to shit in one’s pants.
McCain feels no “particular need” to use email. It’s so much more efficient to have one’s secretaries type up his letters on official GOP letterhead and send it via the postal service (assuming that Paul Revere isn’t available to deliver it on horseback). Continue Reading »
Posted in Elections, Politics, age, blogging, children, conservatives, politicians, presidential candidates, presidential elections, technology | Tagged Adam Nagourney, age, children, conservatives, elderly, George W. Bush, GOP, Huggies, i'm a big kid now, infants, John McCain, kids, Michael Coopero, New York Times, Republicans, toddlers | 2 Comments »
Posted in Bush, Bush administration, Dana Perino, Eric Brewer, George W. Bush, Politics, Scott McClellan, Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary, current events | Tagged *The News*, Bush, Bush administration, current events, Dana Perino, Eric Brewer, George W. Bush, Politics, Scott McClellan, Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary | 1 Comment »
In 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote: “The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
The press is the only thing keeping the politicians honest. Continue Reading »
Posted in Barack Obama, Civil Rights, Congress, Edward R. Murrow, FISA, Fox News, Jesse Jackson, Kit Bond, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr., Reed Tucson, Santa Claus, Sean Hannity, Senators, Thomas Jefferson, Xmas, civil liberties, civil rights movement, domestic spying, free press, freedom, freedom of the press, journalism, media, newspapers, press, surveillance, terrorism, tv, warrantless wiretapping, wiretapping | Tagged media, Barack Obama, journalism, Fox News, Congress, Senators, freedom, Sean Hannity, Civil Rights, Edward R. Murrow, FISA, Jesse Jackson, Kit Bond, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr., Santa Claus, Thomas Jefferson, Xmas, civil liberties, civil rights movement, domestic spying, free press, freedom of the press, newspapers, press, surveillance, terrorism, tv, warrantless wiretapping, wiretapping, Reed Tucson | 7 Comments »
“Love it or leave it.” What a foolish quote. As is the tired “You hate America” retort, uttered frequently to anyone who doubts the president’s sincerity. Is anybody else bored with these baseless smears? Their project—to squash dissent one citizen at a time—is rather transparent. Dissent equals treason. Question nothing, unless of course “you hate America.”
Suppose I don’t like that I can’t take my laptop to Canada without my government copying all its contents into its databases. If I complain about this in public, I’ll catch scowls from strangers, dirty looks galore. I can tell what they’re thinking, what they want to say to me: Continue Reading »
Posted in 1776, 4th of July, American Revolution, Americans, Bill O'Reilly, Bush, Canada, Chris Satullo, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Democrats, Europe, George W. Bush, Independence Day, Internet, King George III, Michelle Malkin, PATRIOT Act, Philadelphia Enquirer, Politics, Republicans, Revolutionary War, Rush Limbaugh, U.S. Constitution, USA, United States, blogging, citizenship, dissent, domestic spying, flag, foreign relations, founding fathers, media, patriotism, prayer, protest, pseudo-patriotism, religion, spectatorship, support our troops, torture, world | Tagged 1776, 4th of July, American Revolution, Americans, Bill O'Reilly, blogging, Bush, Canada, Chris Satullo, citizenship, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Democrats, dissent, domestic spying, Europe, flag, foreign relations, founding fathers, George W. Bush, Independence Day, Internet, King George III, media, Michelle Malkin, PATRIOT Act, patriotism, Philadelphia Enquirer, Politics, prayer, protest, pseudo-patriotism, religion, Republicans, Revolutionary War, Rush Limbaugh, spectatorship, support our troops, torture, U.S. Constitution, United States, USA, world | 2 Comments »
“Flip a coin, what shall we talk about? Heads I tell the truth and tails I lie.”
–The Refreshments
George W. Bush’s weeklong trip through Europe wasn’t only about glamorous dinners and leisurely jaunts to old school castles. The President’s so-called “farewell tour” was a ploy for him to take one last stab at rounding up an entourage to have our backs in our impending squirmish with Iran.
Thus far, this last ditch attempt to convert “the unwilling” into fellow warmongers has come up short, akin to the Hail Mary that gets batted down at the line of scrimmage; an air ball at the buzzer, heaved from half court. Continue Reading »
Posted in Amman, Angela Merkel, Bush, Chancellor, Foreign Policy, George W. Bush, Germans, Germany, IAEA, Iran, Iraq, Iraq War, Iraqis, Jordan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Nouri al Maliki, Politics, President, Prime Minister, The Refreshments, U.S. military, UN, USA, United Nations, United States, current events, democracy, freedom, military, nuclear power, nuclear war, nuclear weapons, sovereignty, troops, war, world | Tagged *The News*, Amman, Angela Merkel, Bush, Chancellor, current events, democracy, Foreign Policy, freedom, George W. Bush, Germans, Germany, IAEA, Iran, Iraq, Iraq War, Iraqis, Jordan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, military, Nouri al Maliki, nuclear power, nuclear war, nuclear weapons, Politics, President, Prime Minister, sovereignty, The Refreshments, troops, U.S. military, UN, United Nations, United States, USA, war, world | No Comments »
Posted in MSNBC, Meet The Press, Politics, Tim Russert, Tom Brokaw, pundits | Tagged *The News*, Meet The Press, MSNBC, Politics, pundits, Tim Russert, Tom Brokaw | 1 Comment »
Posted in 2004 elections, Americans, Australia, Bush, C-Span, Congress, David Cameron, Dennis Kucinich, England, George W. Bush, Gordon Brown, Great Britain, Greg Hands, Harry Reid, House of Commons, House of Representatives, Ireland, Karl Rove, Michael Gerson, Nancy Pelosi, New Zealand, Parliament, Politics, President, Prime Minister, Ron Paul, Senators, Tim Russert, UK, USA, United Kingdom, United States, democracy, politicians, schoolboy politics, world | Tagged 2004 elections, Americans, Australia, Bush, C-Span, Congress, Dana Perino, David Cameron, democracy, Dennis Kucinich, England, English, George W. Bush, Gordon Brown, Great Britain, Greg Hands, Harry Reid, House of Commons, House of Representatives, Ireland, Karl Rove, Nancy Pelosi, New Zealand, Parliament, PMQs, politicians, Politics, President, Prime Minister, Questions to the Prime Minister, Ron Paul, schoolboy politics, Senators, Tim Russert, UK, United Kingdom, United States, USA, White House Press Corps, world | No Comments »
Older Posts »