AMERICA’S MELTDOWN The Lowest-Common- Denominator Society John Boghosian Arden LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Arden,JohnBoghosian. America’smeltdown:thelowest-common-denominatorsociety/John BoghosianArden. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN0–275–97639–4(alk.paper) 1.UnitedStates—Civilization—1970- 2.Popularculture—United States.3.UnitedStates—Socialconditions—1980–4.Massmedia— Socialaspects—UnitedStates.5.Socialpsychology—UnitedStates. I. Title. E169.12.A7242003 306(cid:1).0973—dc21 2002030727 BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable. Copyright(cid:2)2003byJohnBoghosianArden Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher. LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2002030727 ISBN:0–275–97639–4 Firstpublishedin2003 PraegerPublishers,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881 AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc. www.praeger.com PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents 1. TheMeltdown 1 2. Cyberspaced 17 3. VicariousLiving 31 4. Infotainment 47 5. RetailGovernment 65 6. LockandLoad 81 7. TheBottomoftheBarrel 91 8. ShoppingandDropping 99 9. MenandWomenArefromEarth 111 10. HypedSports 121 11. WagingtheSoul 131 12. PunchingtheClock 145 13. McMedicine 151 14. ShrinkWrap 159 15. DumbsizingtheSchools 165 16. MallArt 175 17. TheSpiritualSupermarket 185 18. RebuildingtheFuture 193 vi Contents Notes 213 FurtherReading 229 Index 231 1 The Meltdown InAmericayouwatchTVandthinkitistotallyunreal,thenyou gooutsideandit’strue. JoanArmatrading Not long ago, a perplexing commercial appeared on television in whichamaninawhitecoatstated,“I’mnotadoctor,butIplayone onTV.”Asifheis nowworthyofourrespect,hegoesontorecom- mend that the viewer buy a certain over-the-counterpain-relieving medication.Whathascausedmanyinoursocietytoacceptanactor asamedicalauthority? Thereare,infact,manysignsthatoursocietyisgravitatingtoan overlysimplisticandoftenabsurdviewofreality.Wemightbemelt- ingdowntothelowestcommondenominator(LCD).Wecanseethe LCDsyndromeemerginginwhatweconsidernewsworthy,whatwe regard asentertaining,howwedispensemedicalcare,andhowwe educateourchildren.Wehearaboutchildrengoingonrampagesat their schools with assault weapons. In the emerging LCD society, sensationalism,gossip,andaconstitutionalcrisiseruptedoverasex scandal. ConsistentwiththeLCDsociety,GeorgeW.BushaccusedAlGore and others like him of being “thinkers.” After assuming the role of President, Bush joked that he was a “C” student and that other C studentscouldhopetobecomePresidenttoo. Despite the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the LCD syn- drome has deepened. That same proud C student used terms such as “Axis of Evil” and “crusade” in the political campaign against terrorism.Yethispopularitysoared. Sales of gas-guzzling, environment-ravaging, and collision- mangling SUVs have not dampened. In fact, the LCD cruisers proudly fly the American flag as an expression of patriotism. Few 2 TheMeltdown have asked if our manic hunger for cheap oil has driven American foreign policy to continue to prop up dictatorships called “king- doms” on the Saudi Arabian peninsula. These dictatorships have wipedoutallmoderatedissent,leavingonlyterroristsmasquerading aspiousMuslimstoexpresstheirdissent. Theforcescontributingtothismeltdowninconsciousnessareper- vasive. Never before have we witnessed such dramatic synergybe- tweenmassmedia,demographicchange,andcorporatedomination of the economy. The combination of these factors has restructured every aspect of society. For example, individuals with controlling interestsinthemultinationalcorporationsknowthatthewaytoen- sure profits is to use the media to sell their products to the largest number of customers. To reach that audience, they appeal to the LCDbyusingoverlysimpleformattinginadsandprograms. Advertising consultants pay attention to the 250,000 Americans who wrote to Marcus Welby for medical advice. These consultants also know that several studies have shown that information deliv- ered by a familiar person is more easily accepted than the same informationfromanunfamiliarperson.Thusweseeactorswhoplay doctorssellingmedicine.Thistypeofpersuasionoccursevenwhen thepresenteriscontradictedbythefacts.Weseemfarmoretouched byourvicariousexperienceswithacharacterontelevisionthanwe arebyfacts. InthenewLCDsociety,politicalcandidatesoperatewiththisdy- namicinmind.Forexample,duringtheReaganyearspollsindicated that many voters who did not agree with his political positions or hisversionofthe“facts”aboutoursocietyvotedforhimanyway.To borrow a phrase uttered as a Freudian slip by the great communi- catorhimself,“Factsarestupidthings.” UNCONSCIOUSLY INTO QUICKSAND As we sleepwalk into the twenty-first century, we might be step- pingintoquicksand.Manyofthesocietalchangesnowswayingour consciousnessareself-perpetuating.Considerthatsincetheadvent of television,therehasbeenasteadydeclineinsocialparticipation andcivicengagement. Withtheexceptionofabriefresurgenceofasenseofcommunity post September 11, 2001, Americans volunteer less, participate in fewer political discussions, and attend fewer dinner parties. We TheMeltdown 3 spendlesstimeatmeetingsorbowlingleaguesandsimplyconverse less with one another. In short, we spend approximately a quarter ofthetimesocializingtodaythanwedid35yearsago.1 We have replaced social ties with dependence on the electronic media. It has been estimated that the television is turned on in the average American family home from two and a half to five hours daily, and Americans spend on average 40 percent of their leisure timewatchingit.2 InasurveyofAmericansbetweentheagesof15and25conducted in 2002, it was found that despite the brief sense of trustingovern- ment institutions, actual involvement in the community continued to go down.3 The percentage of these people who volunteer even occasionallyhasdropped7percentinjustoneyear.Since1998there hasbeena14-pointdropinpeoplewhomadeacharitabledonation, an 11-point drop in those who have joined an organization, and a 10-point drop in the percentage of those who volunteer at commu- nityorganizations. AccordingtoaGallupPoll,thenumberofpeopleadmittingtohav- ingreadnobooksthepreviousyearshotupfrom8percentin1978 to16percentin1998.4JohnRobertsonoftheUniversityofMaryland showed that between 1948 and 1985, the percentage of people who readmagazinesonagivendaydroppedfrom38to28percent.5 The reliance on the electronic media as a replacementforsocial- ization has contributed to mutations in our consciousness. Social disengagement has also long been associated with impairments in physical and mental health.6 Researchers have shown that people with decreased levels of social supportexperienceacorresponding increase in illnesses, depression, and difficulties in intimate rela- tionships.Forexample,inarecentstudy,54percentofchildrenages 4 to 6 indicated that they like television better than they like their fathers.7 On the other hand, technological and media advances have en- abled people to communicate with one another over geographical distancesoncethoughtunfathomable.Cellphonesnowmakeitpos- sibleforadyingclimberonMt.Everesttohavecontactwithfamily members in New Zealand. With a few strokes on a keyboard, an e-maillettercanbetransmittedinamatterofsecondsfromCairoto HongKong.Thelatestnewscanbeviewedontelevisionorheardon the radio from Antarctica to Greenland. Styles and modes of com- municationcanbemodeledontelevisionandinmotionpicturesfor 4 TheMeltdown viewersanywhereintheworld,thankstosatellitedishes,cable,an- tennas,andvideotapemachines. But as New York University Professor of Media and Journalism Michael Stephens has argued, the advances in film have led to less reliance on the written word because of a greater ability to com- municate ideas through images. Though he applauds this develop- ment, he acknowledges that the reliance on visual imagery hasled toasuperficialorientationtotheworld.Hewrites: Indeed,theincreasingrelianceuponimages,whichbeganwithphotography andacceleratedwithfilm,certainlyseemstohavecontributedtoanincreas- ingconcernwithimage—withstyle,possessionsandpublicrelations,with surfacesandappearances,withwhatCokecommercialsareselling.8 Simultaneous with the shift from the written word to visual im- agery, the number of people with deficits in attention span, short- term memory, and intellectual curiosity has increased. Also, the numberofpeopleseekingimmediategratificationthroughmaterial possessions and entertainment has surged. We have come to crave gossipoversubstance,acrimonyoverharmony,andsensationalism overdeepmeaning. What we consider hard news has essentially disintegrated into gossip. We discuss in great detail a President who has affairs and congressmen with secret lovers who disappear. A generation ago thesesubjectswerenotconsideredworthyofmainstreamnewscov- erage. The mainstream press followed a code of ethics. The press did not cover the speculation about alleged extramarital affairs of Presidents Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, or Johnson. Today these stories are omnipresent despite the fact that the viewing au- dienceclaimstobedisinterested.AmediathinktankinWashington reportedthattelevisioncoverageoftheClinton/Lewinskysexscan- dalwasmoreextensivethancoverageoftheothersevenbigstories in1998combined.9 During the summer of 2001, Congressman Gary Condit was all over the media despite the fact that there was no breaking news aboutthisstory.OnlyaftertheSeptember11thterroristattacksdid Condit drift out of the news. Then actor Robert Blake was charged with the murder of his wife, and Condit was supplanted by a new personality. Thetabloidshavealwaysattractedareadershipinterestedingos- sip about celebrities. There was a time when stories about a Presi- TheMeltdown 5 dent’saffairsdidnotgracethefrontpageofTheNewYorkTimesor Washington Post. Now they do. The House of Representativespar- ticipated in the news tabloidization by releasing graphic details of former Independent Council Kenneth Starr’s reporttotheInternet. AnyonewithacomputerwasabletoreadaboutPresidentClinton’s sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky, including their use of a cigar,oralsex,andphonesex.10 Meanwhile,violenceintheworkplace,massacresinschools,and internationalterrorismgetlittlein-depthdebateoranalysis.There- sponsetoone of thesestories amountstoflashheadlinesalmostas ifitwereacommercialforatelevisionshowtitled“AmericaStrikes Back.” Manyobserversofgunviolenceinourschoolshaveblamediton television,themovies,computergames,guns,andincreasedfeelings of alienation. The massacres cannot be tied to any of these factors alonebuttoallofthemcombined.Theyrepresentanepisodicnight- mareinouremergingLCDsociety. The potential for more terrorism hangs over us like an invisible cloud.TheOffice of Homeland Securityissuedreportsofdailyrisk forterrorismthewaytelevisionmeteorologistsforecasttheweather. They have developed a color-coded forecasting system. Will it be a red or yellow day tomorrow? Or is anyone paying attention anymore? TWO WORLDS INTO ONE NOT-SO-BRAVE NEW WORLD Halfacenturyago,twopopularviewsofthefutureofcivilization were described in literature. One view was put forth by GeorgeOr- well in his novel 1984. He envisioned a totalitarian state in which “BigBrother”policedthethoughtandbehaviorofitsfearfulcitizens. OrwelldescribedtheMinistryofTruthasanorganizationrespon- sible for controlling the minds of citizens. The Ministry used New- speakandthefollowingmind-bendingsloganoftheParty:WARIS PEACE;FREEDOMISSLAVERY;IGNORANCEISSTRENGTH.11 The rigid control of the press in the former Soviet Union, its sat- ellites, and the People’s Republic of China are but contemporary examples of societies where the ignorance of the masses has been factoredintothestabilityoftheState.Thebrutalrepressionoffree- dom of speech in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and the incarceration