Carrie Underwood won “American Idol” last night. It’s apparently one of the biggest stories of the day. I really don’t know much about it since I only watched the first few episodes when the really poor singers auditioned. The interesting, and probably more pertinent point of the story is that five times as many people voted of an “American Idol ” contestant, than voted in the presidential election of 2004.
This in itself is an unimaginable statistic and says volumes about the state of this country, but it also got me to thinking about my own little world, and just how out of touch those of us in the “reality based community” really are. Those of us who are actively engaged in the great battles of the American political and cultural war seem to live in a bubble where we just don’t understand what it is that moves the great mass of the American public.
This little story might illustrate the point:
I own a small restaurant with a staff of about ten or twelve waiters and busboys. They consist of the usual mix of college students trying to offset their 30k+ tuition fees, and aspiring actors or singers. Amongst them have been political science majors, international studies majors, pre-law students, Middle Eastern studies majors, and those studying history. Needless to say, with that kind of mix, the between rush conversations often turn to current events and politics. Between folding the napkins and polishing silverware anything from Iraq to stem cell research might come up. In some ways, having so many “scholars” around has been like having a little “think tank” of my very own. It’s always been an interesting group and there have been many very stimulating discussions. Before each election, they urge one another to register to vote and I’m happy to say they all have taken part in our great democratic experiment, some for the very first time.
It’s gone on pretty much like that for the past nine years. As each employee left, a new one seemed to come to fill their place at the round table. Perhaps, because I enjoy being surrounded by bright and engaging young people I’ve always tended to look for those qualities when I’ve interviewed perspective new employees. I’ve hired people from all sides of the political spectrum and some of our best conversations have been with those who’ve held views different from my own. As long as everyone argued their case in a concise and coherent manner, there has always been a respect for differing opinions. We lived in our own little world, not unlike the world I feel many of us in the politically active world inhabit. A world based on intellectual honesty and passion
A short time ago it all changed when I had to hire two new waiters to fill the void created by some graduating seniors. The new waiters were older, “pros”. They had worked in numerous other restaurants and had careers stretching back fifteen or twenty years. From a business point of view it was a good move as it made the transition and training easy, but the dynamic of our daily conversations started to shift. Although both of the “new guys” are well educated, watch the news and read the papers ever day, their input tended to be more of the “Runaway Bride” variety. It’s as if these guys are walking encyclopedias of pop and pulp culture. They know ever aspect of the latest exploits of Paris Hilton, and can quote verbatim the daily testimony from the Michael Jackson trial. From Desperate Housewives to American Idol they are the masters. Yet, they are generally well informed, and politely engage in our discussions of events of the day, with input that is quite knowledgeable and insightful. Given their druthers though, they tend to prefer to steer the conversation to the more sensational and tawdry stories.
This morning as I came in, one of the “new guys” was setting up for the lunch rush and caught my eye. “I know you won’t think its funny”, he said,” but did you see that more people voted for “American Idol” than voted in the Presidential election.” There was smugness to his tone, as if to say, “See, I was right all along, more people do care about that kind of stuff, then the egghead news you guys like to discuss.” And of course he was right, but as I walked to my small office the exchange left me thinking about a much larger question.
Those of us who inhabit wonk world, on both sides of the fence, seem to exist in a bubble where we feel everyone would be as passionate about the issues as we are, given the right circumstances. We assert that those who are not engaged on any given topic simply just don’t know enough about it. With an almost evangelical zeal, we believe that if only we could get the message out things would be different. Given the knowledge, people would surely make the right decisions. We blame the media for not doing their jobs, politicians for not speaking up, and ourselves for not being able to change either.
It’s as if we revert back to some adolescent mindset where we really believe that if we could only convince our friend to listen to just one more song on the album, they would surely know that our favorite band is in fact the greatest band that ever existed. But at some point you come to the realization that one more “Sugar Magnolia” or “Trukin” is not going to convince your friend that Jerry Garcia is a God.
The “news guys” brought that point home by poking holes in my little bubble world of misconceptions. These guys are not uninformed or ignorant of the issues. They are well informed and know what’s going, they just prefer to live in a different American cultural universe. Whether it has to do with cynicism or apathy, they’ve decided that Michael Jackson is just as important as John Bolton, and the American Idol is as relevant as any other election.
I believe that they represent the greatest challenge to those of us who wish to enact change. Ignorance can always be overcome, but a conscious decision to choose infotainment over information is not easily countered. Those that have intentionally chosen to disengage will be the hardest to re-engage.
