Cash Culture by Mumia Abu-Jamal

[col. writ. 2/26/08] (c) '08 Mumia Abu-Jamal

At the heart of the modern American entertainment industry, is the shameless, savage pursuit of profit.

I don't mean the commercial end, as is usual, but the so-called creative end, as shown by the flood of alleged "reality shows."

For many of the (as yet) unfamous, one is promised a knot of money; the more one gets, the more one debases himself. 'Eat a handful of writhing worms, and get a thousand bucks.' While the many shows have various themes, this is its essence; money for humiliation.

And with the recent writers' strike, we have seen the growth in such programming -- which often needs little or no scripting.

I'm convinced that such shows do far more than reveal a shadow-side of the American psyche; they reflect the will of the well-to-do; the wealthy few of the society, who demonstrate their power and dominance by such public displays.

Two thousand years ago, a handful of coins were cast to the teeming crowds as they gathered at the Coliseum. Then, as now, entertainment reflected the cruelties inherent to their cultures, and how such shows reinforce the positions of the powerful.

We can look beyond the contours of the idiot box to the outer world in which we live and breathe. Such shows give us insight into how workers daily are forced to accept humiliations in order to pay for food and shelter. Such shows merely reinforce this social dynamic.

Moreover, what is our politics but a grim replay of the same?

Politicians willingly humiliate themselves daily, wear silly hats, and make stupid promised, to get elected.

These exercises cost absolutely obscene amounts of money. Just as the nation slides into recession. For example, each Democratic presidential candidate has raised (and spent!) over $100 million dollars. $100,000,000! -- for a job that pays $400,000 a year!

And, truth be told, politicians, even the seemingly most powerful, are but puppets of those more powerful than they.

Such is American cash culture at the beginning of this new century, where everything is for sale -- for the right price!

But just because something is for sale doesn't mean it's truly worth anything.

--(c) '08 maj