Last week I dogged on the Kansas City Chiefs: how annoying Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid have become, and that Taylor Swift’s association with the team was the final nail in my Kansas City coffin.
Apparently, I wasn’t alone in my attitude as the post received a lot of agreement. Of course, The Swifties came out of the woodwork.
I learned what a wonderful, generous person Taylor is, that she’s won 324 various awards (how many have YOU won?), that she’s brought a combined 5 billion dollars worth of consumer spending to the cities she plays at, that major colleges hold Taylor Swift classes regarding her artistic and entrepreneurship ability, and that she donates to food banks wherever she performs.
That is all awesome and Taylor Swift is obviously amazing, but here’s the problem. She’s part of the reason there has to BE food banks in every city she performs at.
As I said before, I am a died-in-the-wool capitalist and I have no argument with talented and industrious people being lucratively rewarded for their skills. However, in my opinion, Taylor Swift is WAY overcompensated in regards to her value to our society.
I look at it this way. If, tomorrow, you removed every millionaire pop star icon, every music diva, every diamond encrusted rapper, every actor/actress, every overpaid pro athlete, coach, and their overpaid agents from the face of the earth, how would our country change?
Some might argue our lives would actually improve if we were to achieve such a feat.
On the other hand, what would happen if you removed all the carpenters from this country? All the plumbers? All the electricians? How would this country fare if you removed all the legal secretaries? All the nurses? The soldiers?
This is how you gauge value. By measuring how your life would change if this type of person were removed from it. The above mentioned groups are far more valuable to our country than singers, actors and performers. But Average Joe doesn't have a publicist. His screen time is somewhat limited compared to the multi-millionaires dancing and singing their way into our collective mind and pocketbook.
We’ve been told by Taylor Swift’s corporate media team that she’s 1000 times more valuable than a nurse. We’ve been told by television moguls that the skillset of an actor is far superior to that of an electrician. We’ve been told by the Internet Industrial Complex that the ability to entertain a crowd of onlookers is far more valuable than the ability of police officers to protect that same crowd from harm.
And because we’ve chosen to believe the media manipulation, we’ll happily pay $1,000 to see Taylor Swift perform for two hours and on our way inside the venue, walk past a homeless vet who fought for our right to enjoy the show, not giving him a dime.
But the problem isn’t really Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce; the problem is us.
It is we who have chosen to believe that the ability to catch a ball is a truly valuable commodity; a necessary component of our lives. It is we who get entangled in the drama and fake reality of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. It’s our money that funds the nonsense and complete lack of value that we’ve been fooled into prizing so highly.
This gullibility has led us to the largest wealth gap in history. The people who truly make the world go around are grossly undervalued, taken for granted, and struggle to survive while those who produce next to nothing own 8 mansions in 4 states and are put on a pedestal for donating 1% of their income to those who should be getting paid a living wage in the first place.
But wait! There's more! Rather than questioning the out-of-balance-society we live in, striving to build something more equitable and fair, we teach our kids that the real answer to this problem is to emulate those at the top! Strive to scratch and claw your way up the mountain and reach the impossible goal that only .01% of the population can ever reach. Post pictures of them in your bedrooms. Follow them on social media. Spend your dollars on the products they shill. Strive to become just like them.
I'm no genius, but I'm pretty sure this is the exact
opposite message we need to be teaching the next generation. Many of the younger set are way ahead of us on this and are choosing to drop out of the rat race, to stop supporting this broken system that exponentially benefits the few and minimizes the many.
But wait! There's even more! After all this: the inequity, the injustice, the false and unhealthy messaging, and the greed of these people who own everything while contributing next to nothing, they have the unmitigated audacity to look us in the eye and sell us the message, “Hey! We’re just like you! We're the people next door, only prettier and more talented. Your struggles are our struggles. We’re all in the same boat here!”
NO. WE. ARE. NOT. SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP.
This is the core of my irritation. Rather than idolizing entertainers who live a fake lifestyle and contribute very little to our everyday wellbeing, let’s spread the wealth a little, shall we? People are suffering and dying down here. There’s a pandemic of hopelessness, despair, drug abuse and suicide happening far away from the gated community y’all choose to live in.
How can we begin to do that without a wholesale revolution or forced monetary coercion? That’s a subject for another rant... err... blog post...
Until then, we’ll count on the “generosity” of Taylor Swift and her buddies to smile down upon us poor, low value folks at the bottom trying to eke out a meager existence in everyday America.
Looking forward to our next meeting,
Dan
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