You know, I'm never surprised yet somehow I still find it somewhat shocking
that America attracts so much scorn and disdain for policies and practices
that nearly every country is to blame for. I mean, there are a lot of
problems in the world, and some of the biggest ones are hardly America's
fault. Africa is in chaos not just because us Yankees are rigging the IMF or
foisting unfair debt burdens, but also because Europe colonialized
(enslaved?) virtually the entire continent. Pakistan and India are at each
others throats because the artificial borders left behind by the British were
ambiguous. The American cultural presence in Europe and Japan could possibly
stem from the fact that, left to their own nationalistic tendencies and
combined with America's own then-isolationists policies in the first half of
the 20th century, Germany and Japan tried to take over the frickin world, and
Italy and Spain were run by some pretty bad guys.
Along those lines, several European nations still have active fascist (!) par
ties who place in elections, something that never happens in the U.S.. No
matter how much anyone might dislike George Bush, the guy's no fascist, and
the closest this country has come to providing one in recent years (Pat
Buchanan, David Duke) have gotten laughed off of the polls.
Is America's presence around the world overbearing? Probably, at least
sometimes. But the alternative can be equally bad. France, with its
noninterventionist policies and nationalistic tendencies, is the place with
rampant synagogue burnings and politicians with explicitly xenophobic
platforms. Austria has a leader who is a Hitler apologist. South America and
Africa are rife with governments so corrupt that entire continents sometimes
seem on the verge of collapse. In the grand scheme of things, darn it, the
pervasiveness of Starbucks is not that bad.
I mean, people might talk up "indie" coffee shops in the U.S., but from the
best I can remember before the arrival of Starbucks everybody just bought
their nasty, hot coffee at McDonald's (speak of the devil). Plus, Starbucks'
company record in terms of public service and treating their employees well
is nearly unparalleled in the world of big corporations. And did anyone read
that story in the New York Times about espresso in New York City? Big
bustling metropolis of several million, a hub for millions of immigrants from
around the world and, traditionally speaking, especially Italians, and the
Times food critic, with all the small hole in the wall restaurants and coffee
shops he tried, many run by recent Italian arrivals who barely spoke English,
he said one of the few decent cups of espresso he had was at (ta-dah!)
Starbucks. So go figure. I've never had Japanese coffee, so I wouldn't be
able to compare, but I'd love to try it one day.
As for Zorn, here we are ostensibly discussing an artist who all but defines
cultural miscegenation. Even under the guise of nationalism with Masada and
some of the Radical Jewish Culture stuff Zorn's music is hardly pure. He
borrows from so many different styles and cultures that it sometimes boggles
the mind, but that's what makes him so good and (generally) interesting.
Likewise you can't find a single "pure" nation around the world (maybe
Iceland comes closest, genetically) but we all know what happens when certain
governments (Germany in the '30s, a lot of the Arab dictatorial regimes now)
try for one. If I had to lean one way or the other, I would lean toward
cultural exchange over nationalism, even if that means, further down the
line, fewer independent owned bookstores, record stores or coffee shops. To
embrace the small business is understandable, but the biggest difference
between a mom and pop record store and Tower is mostly romantic. A record is
a record is a record, and a book is a book is a book and I file them in the
same shelves no matter where they came from.
Sorry to write so much. Criticism of the States is always warranted, just as
is criticism of almost every country, but c'mon: be reasonable and realistic.
This country's basic principles of free speech alone set it apart from every
other country in the world, and for that I think the world is better off, no
matter how many coffee shops might disappear. American Starbucks destroyed
Japan's coffee shop culture? Japan ate up our electronics and entertainment
industry. So it goes.
Josh
