AuntShecky
11-15-2010, 04:25 PM
Brooks, David. On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
It seems that every time we watch a cable news show or read an article online or from one the soon-to-be-extinct newspapers, somebody mentions the “middle class.” For some Americans, the “middle class” represents the economic tier to which they aspire; for others, it’s a lifestyle in which they have been proudly accustomed and from which they increasingly fear they might lose; and for a few critical souls, the term “middle class” is the symbol of everything that’s wrong with Suburbia, from bourgeois envy of the neighbors to kitschy lawn ornaments. In the book, On Paradise Drive, the middle class is all that and a bag --not of chips but the perfect fast-food "Fry!" --specifically the embodiment of the mythical, seldom-realized “American Dream.”
David Brooks (b. 1961) is well-known to viewers of PBS as well as readers of The New York Times. In his columns Brooks might be called –like the aforementioned print publications- an endangered species, for he is that rara avis, a “moderate Republican.” In this book, however, he completely removes his hat from the political ring and puts on the thinking cap of a sociologist. As a result, his study of a perpetually striving America is keenly-observed and cleverly expressed. Of the latter, Brooks seems to be an extraordinarily gifted writer in that he when takes some of the laughable aspects of suburban life, he is able to show them without gratuitous, mean-spirited ridicule. For instance, Brooks maintains the Greek philosophy of “Know thyself” has been supplanted by “Overrate thyself. . .As you may have noticed, 90% of Americans have way too much self-esteem (while the remainder has none at all.)” (p. 73.) Similarly wry is his description of the country's obsession with huge cars: “ they look like the Louisiana Superdome on Wheels” which “guzzle so much gas that Saudi princes line the driveway gaping and applauding.”
(p. 89.) Later in the book, Brooks describes “vehicles with such names as Yukon, Durango, Expedition, and Mustang, as if their accountant-owners were going to chase down some cattle rustlers on the way to the Piggly Wiggly.”
(p. 247.)
There are so many comic one-liners throughout the book that the reader almost forgets the serious points which Brooks is attempting to make, that no matter how much money an American makes, or how much he may have achieved, there is always another goal to shoot for, another turn ahead on the Road to Perfection. “Success is never good enough.” As a result, few Americans are content to live in the Present; instead they aspire to a hazy Future, a deep-seated belief in a fantasy that may never come true. It is the ironic tragedy of this so-called “Land of Plenty” is that it never ceases to leave the person completely satisfied. It is the very “abundance” in this country that makes “people work feverishly hard and cram their lives insanely full.” Brooks explains “People in such a realm live in a perpetual aspirational trance. They are bombarded . . .by advertisements , images, messages, novelties, improvements, and tales of wonder. It takes a force of willpower beyond that of most ordinary people to renounce all this glorious possibility. It’s easier to work phenomenally long hours . . .than it is to say no.” (p.229.)
Of course, when he wrote this book in 2004, Brooks had no prescience about the great economic crash of 2008 which practically nobody saw coming. Since then the inability to say “no” has been removed from many an American’s bank account. Yet, the collective unconscious may not so easily let go. The fantasy of the future is so ingrained within our national character that few us are aware that we actually live our lives accordingly. There are both good and bad aspects about this constant striving for future goals, which Americans have done ever since the first Pilgrim set foot on these shores. Even though the first eight chapters of On Paradise Drive are alive with humor and rich descriptions, it is the thoughtful scholarship of the last chapter, “A History of the Imagination,” which makes this book an significant contribution to the way we look at ourselves. I heartily recommend it.
It seems that every time we watch a cable news show or read an article online or from one the soon-to-be-extinct newspapers, somebody mentions the “middle class.” For some Americans, the “middle class” represents the economic tier to which they aspire; for others, it’s a lifestyle in which they have been proudly accustomed and from which they increasingly fear they might lose; and for a few critical souls, the term “middle class” is the symbol of everything that’s wrong with Suburbia, from bourgeois envy of the neighbors to kitschy lawn ornaments. In the book, On Paradise Drive, the middle class is all that and a bag --not of chips but the perfect fast-food "Fry!" --specifically the embodiment of the mythical, seldom-realized “American Dream.”
David Brooks (b. 1961) is well-known to viewers of PBS as well as readers of The New York Times. In his columns Brooks might be called –like the aforementioned print publications- an endangered species, for he is that rara avis, a “moderate Republican.” In this book, however, he completely removes his hat from the political ring and puts on the thinking cap of a sociologist. As a result, his study of a perpetually striving America is keenly-observed and cleverly expressed. Of the latter, Brooks seems to be an extraordinarily gifted writer in that he when takes some of the laughable aspects of suburban life, he is able to show them without gratuitous, mean-spirited ridicule. For instance, Brooks maintains the Greek philosophy of “Know thyself” has been supplanted by “Overrate thyself. . .As you may have noticed, 90% of Americans have way too much self-esteem (while the remainder has none at all.)” (p. 73.) Similarly wry is his description of the country's obsession with huge cars: “ they look like the Louisiana Superdome on Wheels” which “guzzle so much gas that Saudi princes line the driveway gaping and applauding.”
(p. 89.) Later in the book, Brooks describes “vehicles with such names as Yukon, Durango, Expedition, and Mustang, as if their accountant-owners were going to chase down some cattle rustlers on the way to the Piggly Wiggly.”
(p. 247.)
There are so many comic one-liners throughout the book that the reader almost forgets the serious points which Brooks is attempting to make, that no matter how much money an American makes, or how much he may have achieved, there is always another goal to shoot for, another turn ahead on the Road to Perfection. “Success is never good enough.” As a result, few Americans are content to live in the Present; instead they aspire to a hazy Future, a deep-seated belief in a fantasy that may never come true. It is the ironic tragedy of this so-called “Land of Plenty” is that it never ceases to leave the person completely satisfied. It is the very “abundance” in this country that makes “people work feverishly hard and cram their lives insanely full.” Brooks explains “People in such a realm live in a perpetual aspirational trance. They are bombarded . . .by advertisements , images, messages, novelties, improvements, and tales of wonder. It takes a force of willpower beyond that of most ordinary people to renounce all this glorious possibility. It’s easier to work phenomenally long hours . . .than it is to say no.” (p.229.)
Of course, when he wrote this book in 2004, Brooks had no prescience about the great economic crash of 2008 which practically nobody saw coming. Since then the inability to say “no” has been removed from many an American’s bank account. Yet, the collective unconscious may not so easily let go. The fantasy of the future is so ingrained within our national character that few us are aware that we actually live our lives accordingly. There are both good and bad aspects about this constant striving for future goals, which Americans have done ever since the first Pilgrim set foot on these shores. Even though the first eight chapters of On Paradise Drive are alive with humor and rich descriptions, it is the thoughtful scholarship of the last chapter, “A History of the Imagination,” which makes this book an significant contribution to the way we look at ourselves. I heartily recommend it.