Pogs and Presidents

I loved it when Rutherford said that the anti-war "movement" in Iraq became a fad, but unlike the author, I believe that both the pro and anti-war culture in the US did not simply become a fad, but was a fad from the beginning. I'm not saying that I don't sympathize for those who lost friends and family on 9/11, nor am I discounting the magnitude of the event; but lets face it, when those attacks happened, how strong was your personal patriotism? Were you anti-military before that day? Did anyone exude any kind of patriotism, any degree of national pride before the tragedy happened? Not likely. The cultural climate in the U.S. was consumed by celebrity attention. Everyone had opinions of everything in hollywood, a previous blog said it well, "I speak hollywood." While everyone was obsessed over celebrity gossip, there was always that feeling that it was kind of shallow- think "Clueless"- there was a deep absence of substance in pop culture. Then came 9/11. Suddenly everyone in my highschool had their head shaved with talks of joining the military. Suddenly there was this great wave of patriotism going around and there were news broadcasts saying how great it was that stores all over the country were running out of American flags because there were so many people buying them. If anyone actually gave a shit about patriotism, wouldn't they already have an American flag? This all just goes to show that American culture was vacuous as it it were, and now people draw the conclusion that war is a much more substantial topic than last week's episode of "Friends." And you know what, that would have been fine, a little lame, but tolerable. The problem was that nothing changed. The focus did, but to most Americans, the flags they now had wallpapering their cars, homes and offices were no more meaningful than the designer pants they were wearing. Although the focus shifted from celebrity life to political life, people still approached it the same way. Even though they might have grasped the gravity of what they would watch on tv, they still talked about the lastest news from the pentagon as if it were the latest development in the O.J. trial. Still Americans felt better about themselves because the shallowness that plagued their hollywood discussions was more ignorable when they talked about politics, it was "cooler" to do. No one seemed to care anymore about it than they would care if Ross and Rachel broke up. The American flag was transformed from a symbol of national pride and unity, to a fashion accessory to people who want to appear they care. I remember back in 3rd grade trying to explain to my mom why i just had to have pogs, and i had the hardest time coming up with a rationale behind why she should buy them for me - it was a fad, if you played pogs you fit in. I didnt necessarily enjoy the game, and I'm not sure how much the other guys did either, but we all bought them, we all had them, and we all played them. Ask yourself one question, wheter it is an actual flag, a magnet, a pin, a sticker, it doesnt matter- do you own or display an American flag? ...Why? Why do you need it?




By the way, I feel the exact same way about those goddamn bracelets and ribbon car magnets- if you own them, you're a tool and youre perpetuating the same propaganda Rutherford argues against.