Friday, November 14, 2003
Embarrassingly Bourgeois
I couldn’t remember what "bourgeois" meant.
So I had to look it up.
Egads!
No wonder I couldn’t remember. I blocked it out of my mind.
I am the definition of bourgeois. I am what I demonstrated so hard against, and I became it anyway.
I have gone from small town beatnik to flower girl to hippie to Democrat to Mom to politician to Republican to Bourgeois. And like all good members of the bourgeois working class --proud of it. I have been thinking that everyone should work hard (like I do) and spend money buying things (like I do) because it keeps America going. I am the Social Middle Class. I strive to keep things as they are -- nay, I fight to keep things as they are. People working, people making things in exchange for money so they can buy things other people make. And with the help of ample resources for industry and collective bargaining for workers to earn enough for necessities as well as some indulgences, we, the bourgeois working class, have created a mighty nation.
But a mighty nation of what? Buyers and sellers?
My sister said we are gatherers, so I guess my sister and I shop to gather. Perhaps it is as ingrained in our instinct as overeating in the fall to fend off the cold and hunger of the long Germanic winters. If I feel antsy, depressed, energetic, bored -- I shop. I used to hate shopping. Now I need it. What is that about? Is some instinct telling me a cold and hungry winter is coming? Do I really need more books, cute blouses & t-tops, pretty cups, coordinating bath linens, and that all-in-one squirt and brush toilet cleaner? Obviously I do, for I bought them all.
And, I am looking forward to Christmas. Not to celebrate the birth of Christ. Not really. I am looking forward to more shopping. I can shop for Christmas Dinner, shop for the adopt-a-family at work, shop for presents for friends and loved ones, and shop for myself as a reward for doing all this shopping. I am keeping America strong by keeping the economy strong. Capitalism lives. Capitalism has surpassed the other social experiments. It thrives, because I earn and spend. And so does my sister. Are we not better than any other nation?
Look at the nation that chose a family of blue blood to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose a superior race to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose a religious leader to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose a sense of community to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose the most powerful and fearsome to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose guardians of commerce to rule them.
Each nation has been burdened with a curse. Each nation suffers the from that most attractive duo of tricksters: Power and Greed.
Ours may not be the most idealistic of nations in the greater scheme of things, but today, in the beginnings of the 21st century, it is the healthiest, and the safest. No matter how hard I try, no matter my misgivings, I cannot think of a better-ruled nation. How embarrassing!
Bourgeois rules.
I couldn’t remember what "bourgeois" meant.
So I had to look it up.
Egads!
No wonder I couldn’t remember. I blocked it out of my mind.
I am the definition of bourgeois. I am what I demonstrated so hard against, and I became it anyway.
I have gone from small town beatnik to flower girl to hippie to Democrat to Mom to politician to Republican to Bourgeois. And like all good members of the bourgeois working class --proud of it. I have been thinking that everyone should work hard (like I do) and spend money buying things (like I do) because it keeps America going. I am the Social Middle Class. I strive to keep things as they are -- nay, I fight to keep things as they are. People working, people making things in exchange for money so they can buy things other people make. And with the help of ample resources for industry and collective bargaining for workers to earn enough for necessities as well as some indulgences, we, the bourgeois working class, have created a mighty nation.
But a mighty nation of what? Buyers and sellers?
My sister said we are gatherers, so I guess my sister and I shop to gather. Perhaps it is as ingrained in our instinct as overeating in the fall to fend off the cold and hunger of the long Germanic winters. If I feel antsy, depressed, energetic, bored -- I shop. I used to hate shopping. Now I need it. What is that about? Is some instinct telling me a cold and hungry winter is coming? Do I really need more books, cute blouses & t-tops, pretty cups, coordinating bath linens, and that all-in-one squirt and brush toilet cleaner? Obviously I do, for I bought them all.
And, I am looking forward to Christmas. Not to celebrate the birth of Christ. Not really. I am looking forward to more shopping. I can shop for Christmas Dinner, shop for the adopt-a-family at work, shop for presents for friends and loved ones, and shop for myself as a reward for doing all this shopping. I am keeping America strong by keeping the economy strong. Capitalism lives. Capitalism has surpassed the other social experiments. It thrives, because I earn and spend. And so does my sister. Are we not better than any other nation?
Look at the nation that chose a family of blue blood to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose a superior race to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose a religious leader to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose a sense of community to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose the most powerful and fearsome to rule them.
Look at the nation that chose guardians of commerce to rule them.
Each nation has been burdened with a curse. Each nation suffers the from that most attractive duo of tricksters: Power and Greed.
Ours may not be the most idealistic of nations in the greater scheme of things, but today, in the beginnings of the 21st century, it is the healthiest, and the safest. No matter how hard I try, no matter my misgivings, I cannot think of a better-ruled nation. How embarrassing!
Bourgeois rules.
