Paris Hilton for President

"for what we call 'nature' is a free form of a certain kind of scheming and self-importance. The birds and bees indeed pursue their business of eating and breeding with the utmost devotion. But they do not justify it; they do not pretend that it serves higher ends, or that it makes a significant contribution to the progress of the world . . . [humanity] stands in need of ...
-Alan Watts

Paris Hilton for President

Several thinking beings have found dissatisfaction with the conventional wisdom of their era, and have attempted to quell the masses by transforming the structure of society. Karl Marx, for one, with his dissatisfaction of the unequal distribution of wealth, suggests in The Communist Manifesto that we remove the class structure through a homogenization of income and opportunity. 'Abolition of property, of family, of wage disparity!' he heralds from atop his cloud of idealism. Of course it would be nice if it were that simple, if the "everlasting uncertainty" wrought by capitalism could be squelched by unifying the race in the equal accumulation of nothing. But to be human is to be everlastingly uncertain, and to take away the element of individual enterprise is to transform the world into the same monotonous existence that Marx claims to exist in the modern overworked and underpaid proletariat. I for one, am glad to dream - if only to dream - that I am free to pursue the wild dreams of my liking; such is the American dream.

Dreams are, in fact, what gave this country life. Just over two hundred years ago, a rash and brave new social philosophy arose that advocated freedom of speech, religion, and individual enterprise. This was unprecedented: the opportunity to chase a dream became a reality. The dawn of America shimmered with opportunity and hope, as it suddenly became possible to come from nothing and become anything. Andrew Carnegie, a model of this system at work, wrote The Gospel of Wealth in vehement support of this new governmental scheme based on dreams. He viewed the era of the Industrial revolution, (arguably the absolute launch of Capitalism) and the brimming desires of all Americans to achieve their dreams, as the golden age of man. Carnegie believed in getting anything you could possibly desire, while Marx wagged his finger at this "destructive" capitalistic-notion, insisting that necessity, not desire, is and should remain the mother of all invention.

Despite their polarity, both Marx and Carnegie's theories are as equally flawed as they are dreamily idealistic; Carnegie dollops on the same too sweet frosting onto his ideals as Marx, only from a decidedly different jar. Where Marx sees danger in the division of the classes, Carnegie sees explosive possibility for the betterment of all. And of course he would, for in his illusion of perfection, rich politicians and movie stars would not gloat in their great accumulation of wealth, and they would actually - now hold on to your chair folks - donate their fortunes to all of us Joes! It would be lovely, really, but can you imagine Paris Hilton putting a hold on partying to appease global poverty? (Hilton's latest ride, by the way, is a $200,000 Bentley). How about George Bush trading in his oil stocks for an investment to give people a cleaner, cheaper, more efficient fuel source? (I have heard some political jibberish on the subject as of late). In reality, however, these are but mere hallucinations of a "perfect" capitalistic world. Carnegie may have hit the nail on the head when he said the wealthy could improve society through the discriminate donation of their excess, but this, unfortunately, has not thus far proven to be the case. It is a material world, after all. (Sigh).

Ever since the industrial age got its legs, it started running. We went from wheelbarrow to automobile, from naming the constellations to cruising through the space between them; we learned how to dissect the atom and how to destroy a nation. Through all of our exploitations of nature and humanity, we have found cures for diseases and made dental work nearly painless! But the adrenaline wrought by this rapid succession of progress has become an addiction, fueled by want. And want - that sticky fingered mongrel - is never satisfied. He dwells in our insecurities, drooling over the newest upgrades and current fleeting fads, growing fatter with envy and lighter on content with every passing chaotic day, screaming, "Feed me, Seymour!" Despite all of our labors for modern conveniences, that hungry, haunting desire reigns. It is entirely plausible that with all of this wealth around, the entire planet could be fed, clothed, and maybe even free to dream. The American psyche, however, pushes us to produce and consume at an ever-expanding rate, leaving the poor, sick, elderly, and natural surroundings neglected, forsaken . . . forgotten.

America sprouted from the idealism that productivity would serve to unify communities in the common goal of reaching new achievements, and thus improve the race. Instead, we have been driven into a mad rat-race to accumulate more and more, and if not spend it on things we don't need, then to hoard it away "just in case." Don't get me wrong, I love the new advancements in technology - the I-pods, DVD players, ergonomically designed footwear (Dansko shoe plug here) - but it seems we have lost (if we ever had) the capacity to judge equilibrium. Between every extreme, there is a softly teetering balance that beckons us if only we stop and pay attention. I do not have the solution, nor do I even know one exists for the management of the human race. I do, however, believe that it is possible to reign somewhere in between the dominant and submissive on this planet - to honor the integrity of equal give and take. Carnegie's capitalism flew us to the moon, but we have crash-landed into an epoch so jaded and dollar sign driven that global health is suffering and inner peace is found in a bottle. The theory of communism dictates that all citizens are taken care of equally, but it threatens to remove the individual pursuit of happiness that makes this country worth living in. There is a harmony whispering between the extremes that unifies progress with peace, invention with quiet reflection, and the individual with his community. Somewhere in between the capitalist's individualism and socialist's egalitarianism - a kind of contentment lies. If only we could stop to see it.