The terms "popular" and "mainstream" are thrown around these days with almost alarming regularity. We have, it seems, reached a status quo of just exactly what is or isn't acceptable in our greater culture and how it does or doesn't effect us. However, is it fair to call this culture "American"? I don't think so. I think that what is being played out on a daily basis in media, film, and music is the product of a less prevalent but far more omnipresent theme: freedom.
Patriotic and nationalistic campaigns and advertisements almost always focus on the concept of "freedom." This has been especially evident in the wake of 9/11, with Operation Enduring Freedom taking place in Afghanistan and Iraq. From government officials to media pundits, almost everybody throws around the word "freedom," and treats it almost as a physical commodity rather than an abstract ideal. Freedom, as it has come to be defined, can be shared, defended, won, and also lost. It has overtaken society to the point that we are "free" to do as we please, which includes having a Blackberry, posting status updates on Facebook or Twitter, and driving environmentally efficient vehicles, which are all parts of "popular" culture.
-Dylan Parker
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There's a reason why libertarians have abandoned the word (see one of my November posts on this specific topic). I'd say freedom's road to commodity came long ago, when it was lost to nationalist propaganda in WWI. By equating the two you end up with freedom being construed as positive rights (You have the right to *insert something that someone else must provide*) rather than negative rights (You have the right to not be *insert something like spied on, defrauded, robbed*). By positivising it, people then feel they can use it for their personal gain as rent-seekers (for which positive rights are necessary).
ReplyDeleteI can certainly identify with this. Freedom these days seems to have grown into something resembling a product; you are more likely to find it in a greeting card or on a bumper sticker than in the First Amendment. People tend to believe more in what they are able to do as a result of their freedom rather than acknowledge what they have the right to not experience or do because of it. Meanwhile, as you alluded to, the legislation that protects our "freedoms" ensures them in the form of negative rights, not positive ones. For me right now, freedom comes on Saturday in the form of not having to do anything for a month. Interesting how history has changed things.
ReplyDelete-Dylan Parker
It is so interesting that Freedom became so popular not only in America but it is also consider a modern term to many societies throughout the world. Such as in Vietnam, almost when people talking about America, they always mentioned the words "Freedom of America". That is how we want to know more about America, anything concerning about America. The world wants to learn much more about American culture. Therefore, I believe that America should attention more about cultural Diplomacy, because it is an important media that can connect America to the world.
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