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How Thick Is Your Bubble? Or: Rich White People, Please Get It Together
Bizarre stuff from bubble-encased New York Times columnist David Brooks, who excitedly tells us we must all read Charles Murray's Coming Apart, which explains that what's wrong with America isn't gross economic inequity and joblessness exacerbated by an unfair tax structure, a corrupt ruling class, a gutted welfare state and an increasingly powerless working class, but rather "vast behavioral gaps" between two "tribes," a "divergence that puts the success of the American project at risk." Remarkably, both tribes are white: There are poor white people, who are getting fat and pagan and watching too much TV because don't forget they don't have any jobs, and there are rich white people, who are failing to teach them "the values, practices and institutions that lead to achievement." Thus, the failure of the empire. (God knows where all the black and brown people have gone to here, but anyway.) To figure out how you are contributing to the fall of our great nation by your cultural isolation, Murray's website at the American Enterprise Institute offers a helpful quiz on how mainstream you are by asking, say, how often you go to NASCAR races. Gawker has kindly done the quiz on behalf of all the Republican candidates to find out who will save us. Alas, they find that the most mainstream NASCAR-ish candidate is the Muslim Kenyan socialist guy, which could be problematic all around.
18 Comments so far
Show AllIsn't this the same Charles Murray who wrote a book contending that African-Americans are genetically inferior to whites?
Where does the Times find these guys? First William Safire, then William Kristol, now David Brooks. Do they scour the cellars of the American Enterprise Institute?
Abby this "analysis" by these ax to grind types is beyond ethoncentric. European Caucasians have many tribes. This isn't even part of the discussion let alone that of people of color. This is plain silly.
All this from the Liberal New York Times. Geez, I hope they don't suddenly turn conservative...
Sheepherder: " Where does the Times find these guys ".The N.Y. Times has been the Madame that has been finding and hiring media pundit, presstitutes and whores, like Brooks, Kristol, Miller and Safire for far too long.
Plaudits for "Coming Apart" on the AEI webshite, in addition to Brooks, from Rush Limbaugh, Niall Ferguson, W. Bradford Wilcox (WSJ).
And some guy on "Twitter" called "rupertmurdoch".
'Nuff said.
Why would anybody listen to David Brooks?
that's what his wife says
"..there are rich white people, who are failing to teach them "the values, practices and institutions that lead to achievement.""
Ah, the rich white man's burden. Maybe a new Kipling will rise up to encourage them to do their duty and teach the rest of us to be like them.
Many liberals and progressives embrace the foundational assumptions of Murray's thesis - that the general public is fat and lazy, watching too much TV, making the "wrong choices," and that this is the cause of the social and political problems in the country.
Perhaps not "lazy"...but definitely "fat" and "watching too much tv".
Imo, tho...these are symptoms...not the main problem.
We live in an Edward Bernays world (in N.A. anyway) where perception management has convinced us that all is well and to be a good machine you must do as other machines do, which includes watching all the same shows the other machines are watching.
And...of course they're making the wrong choices. How can they do anything else?
To make informed choices citizens need honest, unfliltered, un-spun information. They aren't getting it. They have been so misinformed that you see them actually supporting policies that will ultimately do them great harm.
If Americans are stupid, lazy and uninformed it's only because that's precisely the way people like Murray want them.
Great post. Thanks.
Aw, shewt! I don't even rate a bubble!
I can't say that I've never heard of anything so ridiculous in my life - people like Murray make a living churning our garbage.
Well, I just took their little quiz. A score of 20 indicates full engagement with "Mainstream American Values", and 0 indicates no engagement. I scored between 5 and 8. I can see through my bubble, but need to get out more. Oddly, I'm an underemployed suburban white guy, who faced foreclosure a couple years ago, and I'm two paychecks away from homeless. I'm a progressive/liberal, and often hear, from conservatives at work, that "everyone makes choices." Well, I didn't choose to be unemployed for 20 months, nor did I choose to spend my entire life's savings so I could pay bills and keep the house I grew up in. The .01% can't understand the rest of us don't really have many "choices." The conservatives who have commented on "choices" aren't much better of than I am...Maybe I picked the wrong bubble.
Brooks? OMG, not seriously...
don't suppose he mentioned that the rich guys murder and steal all the resources from the poor guys?
I know, I know...how is that relevant, dubet?
Great, it's the American red-neck test.
"you scored between 5 and 8.
In other words, you can see through your bubble, but you need to get out more."
Yes, because I've never bought a truck, went hunting, worked in a factory, cannot name a Nascar driver and would not exspend my brain on seeing last year's Transformers, etc. etc. Clearly it was sanitized by taking "have you ever owned a gun," out...
The - have you every marched in a parade that wasn't on gay rights, war protests or global warming, meant - have you ever marched in a parade as a patriot, (or as a Fundy - Easter parade.)
The truth is you should get points for being in parades for Gay rights and Global Warming - that MEANS you get out more.This test was arse-backwards.
The test is in this article:
http://www.aei.org/book/society-and-culture/coming-apart-the-state-of-white-america-1960-2010/
I took the "test" and think it is largely BS.
I scored 4 out of 20, which defines me as living in a "thick bubble." However, I disagree. First of all, the culture in which I choose to live now (left-leaning and urban) is not the culture in which I grew up (medium right and a mixture of "town and country"). Had I not once attended a Rotary meeting as a guest and participated in one mainstream festival parade in high school, my score would have been even lower. Thank goodness my young adulthood included a few Greyhound trips and that I now live in a mixed-income neighborhood!
For fun, I took the test pretending to be my spouse. My score came out slightly higher, in the 5-8 range. Next, I took the test pretending to be my father who, among other things, served in the military as a young man and still drives a pickup. Still my score was only in the 9-12 range.
I am admittedly culturally elitist, but my income is merely average due to "hidden disability." In addition, my spouse is one of the long-term unemployed. Things aren't always as "elitist" as they seem on the surface. Consider the following:
1.) I take public transportation to work because I am concerned about the environment. True. However, I also take public transportation for a much more practical reason: I don't have a driver's license.
2.) I am vegetarian because I care about animal rights. Also true. However, being vegetarian is usually less expensive than being omnivorous. Although I prefer to buy organic produce when it is available, I am also well-acquainted with purchasing "low-rent" grocery items such as beans, rice, pasta, and peanut butter.
3.) I supported "buy local" and avoided most chain restaurants/websites/stores long before it was trendy. Definitely true. However, I do not understand why anyone of modest means would want to eat at midpriced chains when less expensive, more nutritious, and better-tasting food is available at home. Due to our economic situation, we probably go to a restaurant once a month and have pizza delivered once a month. . .at most!
Sorry if I seem defensive. . .I've just been accused of being an elitist snob way too often, even though my income doesn't match! Does anyone think there's a market for a book called "Cultural Elitism on a Budget?"
"You scored between 9 and 12"
So which is it? Can't they add?
It's arrogant trash (I'm talking about the author) like this who is dividing the country.
How thick is David Brooks?