Captain PMS, Jameson

Captain’s Blog Stardate 9/04

The reading this week was so dense and involved that there is no way I can write on everything it made me think. Instead I have chosen one small idea to riff on. Under the section, “Loss of the Radical Past”, Jameson contends that, “we are condemned to seek history by way of our own pop images and simulacra of that history, which itself remains forever out of reach.” This statement brought to mind a few things, which isn’t surprising because I find that the more I read about this stuff the more everything becomes intertwined. This week I watched the documentary, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room which is perhaps the best example I have ever seen of capitalism gone wrong. However, one thing that struck me was how much Enron’s façade mirrored the concept of the American dream that my generation grew up on. The idea of climbing the ladder to the top of corporate America, all the while building your 401 k and investing in the market, was something that my friends and I considered worth working for. To watch the employees of Enron discover that their own retirement cushion has gone up in smoke so that it can pad the pockets of men with more money than they need, is not only incensing, but also carries with it the sort of sadness that can only be found in the death of a dream. When I think of Jameson’s comment that our “pop images” of history remain out of reach I think of Enron. I think of the pictures of executives in power suits and slick cars. I think of how some people grow up with the idea of this company that is going to take care of them until retirement. Capitalism may be changing our culture in many positive ways, however the fact remains that when not controlled business can become the thing that destroys our dreams instead of building them.