We’ve become a nation with too many Jay Gatsbys. It’s really sad. Certain elements of American society desire wealth, power, and glamour so much that they resemble the depraved antihero of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby.” As I will explain, I blame Bush, not the American people.
Let’s start this analogy with a look at President Bush. He is, in effect, the book’s Tom Buchanan. He a rich east coast-establishment Yale graduate with all the money and power anyone could ever want. Just like Tom Buchanan, Bush doesn’t flaunt his wealth. Strength of character is valued above glitz and glamour. Middle-American facades aside, the two Dinks are parallel embodiments of old money. Did I mention that they both have wives who ran over pedestrians?
Ok, that was a low blow. But I’m not just a leftist loather of Bush. Unlike the knee-jerk Bush-bashers, I believe that deep down many Americans want to be like Bush and Tom Buchanan. They want respect, stature, and access to the good old boy networks. They want to publicly define themselves by character traits and principles rather than sex scandals and corruption. They don’t want to work hard to get ahead, but they sure as hell want to get ahead. Our president is so popular because he sells that image. He symbolizes the traditional and gentlemanly club of American elites to which so many people want membership. Unfortunately, he’s not spawning a generation of noblese oblige philanthropists. Rather, he’s turning us all into self-indulgent Gatsbys.
Evidence of our current culture’s hedonism can be found everywhere from rap videos to “Joe Millionaire.” Follow my logic for an explanation of why Bush may bear some responsibility for this trend: First, there is the fact that beneath Bush’s immediate morality lies a past of irresponsibility. He drank, he drugged, and he ducked out of service in Vietnam. His presidency sends us young people the message that we can do whatever we want, as long as we find Jesus and give up drinking by the time we’re middle-aged. Second, there are the undignified republican cheerleaders, like wrestler The Rock and playmate Bo Derek. Now I have no problem with pro-wrestling or Hugh Hefner’s famed publication, but it’s hard for anyone to take Bush’s moralistic message seriously when entertainers of this ilk are at his side. Finally, there are Bush’s ties to the illegitimate elements of corporate America, Enron in particular. He won’t tell the public who designed his energy policy because it was Ken Lay, Enron’s crooked CEO. This leaves the door wide open for Gatsby-like moral flexibility in profiteering. There’s this subtext of the entire Bush presidency that says, “Be moral, but, more importantly, be rich.”
In reality, wealth of George W. Bush and Tom Buchanan’s sort is unattainable for 99.9 percent of Americans. The traditional eastern establishment has always been — and will continue to be — exclusive. Sure, anyone can be rich, and if you’re good-looking or talented enough, you could probably be famous, too. If you give some campaign money, you may even get to shake Bush’s hand. But that doesn’t mean that he respects you or sees you as his equal. Nor does it mean that certain things won’t remain off-limits. In Gatsby’s case, Daisy was off limits. But in the case of most Americans, a silver-spooned George W. Bush-like ascent to power is off limits.
The Nick Caraways of America need to step up. Smart and levelheaded folks who lack Bush and Buchanan’s blue blood need to slap the Gatsbys upside the head, and set them straight before greed and hedonism further tarnish America’s good name.
Next time you meet a Gatsby-type who thinks that the power to indulge is what makes America great, or that Bush’s character is something to strive for, tell them to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books and learn the following lessons for themselves: 1) You can only buy so much respect; 2) Lavishly dramatic lifestyles come at the expense of happiness; 3) Knowing the right people might help you get ahead, but that doesn’t make you competent; 4)There is nothing more pathetic than a wanabe; 5) Characters like George W. Bush and Tom Buchanan, with their inherited family wealth, undermine principles of democracy; 6) No one likes a bad drunk (especially behind the wheel); 7) Money and class are entirely separate things; 8) “The good life” tends to come and go in America.
While to many of us Bush is a disgrace, I can see why his outward moralistic image suckers people in. He plays the “be rich and respectable like me” card, and deflects all criticisms as class warfare. The man has many hats, some moral, others not, and he uses them skillfully to win popularity.
The sad truth is that, as long as there are Tom Buchanans like Bush, there will always be Gatsby’s who want in their club. Then jealous insecurities will take the shape of grotesque indulgence, as we saw in Fitzgerald’s novel, and currently see in pop-culture. The situation will only improve when the educated and reasonable — the Nick Caraways of America — step in and speak out against this ugly pattern of materialism and greed. We’ve come a long way since the days of Fitzgerald. It’s time that we remind ourselves and each other what the American Dream is really all about.
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