Decadence

The word gets used loosely these days--often lightly or humorously, and even admiringly. But I think the term is becoming more and more relevant, worrisome, and applicable to contemporary American culture, which is to say--in acknowledging our global influence--nearly everywhere. We live our daily lives amidst all the signs and symbols of a society in decay. No point in denying it. It happens to the best; why assume it can't happen here?

It must be apparent to all who've read even a smidgen of history that all great cultures thrive and then decline in an arc that spans lifetimes, but allows appraisal from within for those who notice the details. Our nation's rise was marked and steady for about 350 years. That its fruitful fields were cleared by genocide and its crops propagated through involuntary servitude, that it suffered seismic economic shocks and close calls with extinction does not diminish its ultimate triumph among nations in the modern world. During and after World War II the United States became what it is today: an economic colossus and supreme cultural model.

Now, well, isn't it clear we are gleefully embracing the backward slide? The economic engine continues to fire with enough horsepower to create the illusion of progress, but the wheels are falling off the vehicle, and the venerable road atlas has been exchanged for a pirate's treasure map. Serious rust has set in on the undercarriage while we polish the cup holders, and like decay of all sorts, it starts small and nearly invisibly. But let's look at some of those insidious bits that, because our culture thinks them appealing or accepts them as inevitable, aren't likely to be reversed

• "Reality" Television: Where do we start? Perhaps the Survivor gambit has crested, but American Idol has reached new heights of popularity by encouraging greater acrimony among contestants, and recently treating its audience to the show's first genuine injury, as C-list actress Kristy Swanson got her chin slammed against the ice while being twirled by her partner. And wasn't it truly entertaining to see Barry Bonds in drag as Paula Abdul? And then there's Fear Factor. Can the thrill of watching people eat buffalo testicles be topped by busty Playboy Playmates eating bug-covered strawberries? The genre is limitless and my guess is that we ain't seen nothin' yet.

• "Premium" Jeans: What harm is there, you may say, in paying $250 and up for a pair of blue jeans if you have the funds to do so? Here's where semiotics comes in: What does it signify when sturdy, utilitarian blue denim pants are subjected to industrial strength bleaches and other chemicals, abraded with gravel, and essentially torn to shreds with grinders and sanders to create a trendy "distressed" appearance--much as if they'd been worn and worked in for years--so as to merit a price tag that could be ten times that of a pair of new Levis and be discarded the next season for another pair of slightly different pocket design or with fewer (or more) belt loops?

To me it signifies an economy that generates paper profits rather than substantial wealth and a culture that believes in the principle of hard work but prefers not to do any. We are so removed from actual labor and so confused about the difference between authentic and simulated achievements in our day-to-day lives, that fashion must be forged with irony and status purchased with a debased currency.

• "Pre-emptive" Wars: Let's face it, we are mired in an unwholesome, failing military enterprise in the Middle East because our leaders thought we as a nation needed to vent our rage over recent humiliations at home. We figured that every once in a while we should pick up some smaller, poorer nation and slap it silly, just to bolster our street cred that we are not to be messed with. We knew quite well that Iraq had no means to threaten us in any way, that its leader was a contained regional menace, and that he had no connection whatsoever to the real threats to our security.

But the Bush inner circle felt confident that Iraq was "do-able" and would serve as an example to nations we didn't really want to tangle with, such as Iran or North Korea. Besides, W likes to see himself as a "war president" leading the unbaptized world to the salvation of western democratic capitalism. That his vanity becomes our nation's policy, says a lot about our sense and well-being. Given a choice, this seems to be what we prefer--arrogance, stupidity, stubbornness, and naiveté.

• Self-inflicted Malaise: Oddly, as our nation becomes more and more concerned about common health issues and talks endlessly about nutrition, fitness, and the need for exercise, we become more and more afflicted with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Medical science and pharmaceutical companies offer better and better surgical techniques and patented medications to combat these ailments, but the fact is our society is tremendously over-fed and poorly nourished, that we bring metabolic diseases on ourselves in ever greater numbers, and have poisoned our environment so thoroughly that cancer of one sort or the other has become an odds-on bet for the average citizen, regardless of family history. How could that be?

Decadence is rooted in the ironic curse of abundance. We over-eat because there is so much food--most of it highly processed and adulterated with chemicals meant to preserve what should be consumed fresh and to enhance the flavors sacrificed in the processing plant. It's circular, it's unhealthy, but profitable and convenient for producers and consumers alike. It is the new economics of plenty.

The demands of our daily occupations squeeze out the time we previously allowed to meals, so we make do with huge quantities of "fast food" that is both over-priced and relatively inexpensive at the same time. Have you tried Hardee's Monster Thickburger--1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat? That's two one-third-pound slabs of Angus beef, four strips of bacon, three slices of cheese and mayonnaise on a buttered sesame seed bun. The sandwich alone sells for $5.49 or $7.09 with medium fries (520 calories) and soda (about 400 calories). And that's just lunch!

Is all this logically connected? Perhaps not, but then why wait for Dan Brown to put it all together into a singular conspiracy theory when Englophool has a perfectly reasonable theory of atrophy and decay?