The Enemy is Us

Most people of a certain age remember the Pogo cartoon that commented, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Well, we're staring the enemy in the face again, and he is still us.

I have been thinking that for weeks, in a dim sort of way, and then today I read an article in the New York Times that claimed that GM had already failed a makeover with its Saturn brand. Again, those of us of a certain age remember the birth of Saturn, which was supposed to be a "different" kind of car brand. In the beginning it was, perhaps, but then GM turned away from the concept to build gas-guzzling SUVs, and Americans bought them like candy.

It seems to me that the fundamental problem with our kind of capitalism-- and perhaps every kind of capitalism-- is that it deliberately appeals to the side of us that we don't really like to look at in the mirror. We'd like to be better people than we are, but if you give us a chance, we'll take anything that isn't nailed down. At least animals are honest about it. When my dog steals a napkin (he loves to tear them up) and runs away with it, he doesn't want to be punished, but he doesn't see anything wrong about what he's doing either. The thinking part of us, on the other hand, knows we should consume less and save more, but we rationalize our bad old ways and keep on doing what we really want to do, aided and abetted by the companies that sell us things.

And those companies really do appeal to the worst that is in us. Despite the terrible terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the thing that shocked me the most recently was the shoppers in Valley Stream, Long Island who broke down the doors of a Walmart store and trampled an employee to death in their haste to get to the bargains on "Black Friday." How can you be willing to literally walk over someone's dead body to buy a flat-screen TV? Some commentators claim that Walmart and other stores are at least partially to blame for this kind of behavior. In their desire to "get into the black" for the sales year, they inundate us with ads that whip consumers into a frenzy. "We're opening at 5 am. Be there early!" "You'll never get a better deal on all the things you want!" "Act fast or all the best buys will be gone!" Clearly, some people believed the hype and acted on it.

A look at our criminal justice statistics will tell you that plenty of people will kill to get what they want, from Nike athletic shoes to cocaine. But I still don't see how you can run by-- or over-- a 270-pound man lying on a floor littered with broken glass and not stop to help. What are such people thinking? The short answer is that they're not thinking, they're just wanting. The enemy is us all right, and it's a scary thing.