Talking At Cross Purposes About Unknown Knowns and Known Unknowns.

C@tmomma Uncategorized,

Jersey Boys

I was reading one of the ‘Best Longform Articles from 2012’, brought to our attention by Leroy Lynch and Magickle. Specifically, ‘Jersey Boys’ by Jeffrey Goldberg, from ‘The Atlantic’ magazine:

href=”http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/jersey-boys/309019/”

It’s basically an investigation about 2 of New Jersey’s most famous sons, Governor Chris Christie, a Republican and self-confessed ‘biggest fan’ of Bruce Springsteen, and ‘The Boss’ himself, Bruce Springsteen.

The article describes how one, the Republican, can’t understand how the other, a wealthy Democrat supporter, can be that way, when, as he sees it, Bruce Springsteen is the embodiment of the Republican ideal, a self-made man.

So, I thought I would give the Springsteen ‘Right of Reply’, from the Progressive Left perspective, if I may be so bold. As ‘The Boss’ is busy touring the world right now, and coming to Wayne Swan’s home town of Brisbane pretty soon too I believe. At which event I’m guessing Wayne swan will be in the front row!

So here I go.

Now, the article starts out by making an interesting point:

‘…most politicians-certainly most politicians of national stature-are either too dull, or too monomaniacally careerist to maintain fervent emotional relationships with artists. And when they do, the objects of their affection often resemble them ideologically or dispositionally-‘

Take the lyrics of the Springsteen song that is quoted in the article:

“Workin’ in the fields / Till you get your back burned / Workin’ ’neath the wheel / Till you get your facts learned / Baby, I got my facts / Learned real good right now.” He screams the song’s immortal lines: “Poor man wanna be rich / Rich man wanna be king / And a king ain’t satisfied till he rules everything / I wanna go out tonight / I wanna find out what I got.”

Now, it’s interesting to note the dichotomy of political belief as it relates to these 2 men & how they take different meanings out of the words of this song.

Chris Christie believes it exemplifies “The American Dream”, of starting at the bottom and working your way to the top. And no party enables the American Dream better than the Republican Party. That is, that the poor man working in the field aspires to be rich, that’s what motivates him to keep working in the field until his back burns. So that one day he might climb to the top of the greasy pole, and that he may become the rich man.

Then, as a rich man, he will keep aspiring to be more than that. He will aspire to be ‘king’. As in, in modern parlance, a CEO, PM or President. And that is fine and admirable according to Christie, and most modern Conservatives.

However, where I think Springsteen differs, is in the kicker in the tail told in that song, via the line:

‘And a king ain’t satisfied till he rules everything.’

Springsteen is saying the ‘king’ wants to keep the man in the field, workin’ neath the wheel, till his burnt back is broken.

Chris Christie doesn’t question the ‘Power at all costs as you rise to the top’ mentality. Springsteen does.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Springsteen had a few modern media moguls and politicians, like Rupert Murdoch & Silvio Berlusconi, in mind, when he wrote that line.

Men mainly. Though mannish women, like Margaret Thatcher probably would qualify also, whose sole aim in life has been to seek to rule as much of everything as they can, and destroy, denigrate, divide and conquer, those who try and get in their way.

Chris Christie, and most Conservatives, see nothing wrong with this at all. It is the purest manifestation of their ethos, which basically amounts to bare-knuckle Social Darwinism.

However, I believe, as most Social Democrats do, that Springsteen questions this mentality, and what’s more, disdains it utterley and completely.

For what does it benefit a man, if he does not benefit the greater good? The Common Weal. And that he cannot bring relief to his fellow man with good deeds?

Such as paying your fair share of tax, which then provides public services for the needy, and allows government to give them opportunities they cannot afford to provide for themselves, in order to better themselves?

As opposed to Christie’s idea that you only get what you take, or break your back to get.

That’s why Chris Christie doesn’t get why Bruce Springsteen stoically refuses to join the ‘Club of Kings’, even though Christie thinks he can explain it, when he says, “You want to know what he’s saying?”, Christie asks. “He’s telling us that rich people like him are fucking over us poor people in the audience, except that us in the audience aren’t poor, because we can afford to pay 98 bucks to him to see his show. That’s what he’s saying.”

Well, where do I start with that lot?

For a start, I don’t think Bruce Springsteen would take too kindly to a Republican Governor, who has slashed taxes for the rich & services for the poor, and who seeks to smash the Working Man & Woman’s collective voice, the Union, in their joint Home State of New Jersey, paraphrasing what Bruce Springsteen means with his lyrics, or how he manifests a hypocrisy with them by his actions in being a wealthy person, who sings songs about the poor’s struggles. By telling others, who can afford ~$100 for a ticket that they are poor, and downtrodden by ‘The Man’, as manifest by Christie and his plutocratic mates in the Republican Party.

No mention, of course, about how it may well be the case that a lot of the ticket purchasers could have put aside the equivalent of $2/week from their Minimum Wage jobs, for a year, just so they could afford to see Bruce Springsteen play live.

No, simply because they can still afford a ticket, that means they are not as badly off as Bruce Springsteen makes them out to be, according to Christie. A telling, and common, current Conservative mindset.

Maybe Bruce Springsteen understands better than Chris Christie exactly how these people came by the money for the tickets, and he expresses his sympathy and empathy in his songs?

Also, what Chris Christie, and most modern Conservative politicians, doesn’t understand, is that a wealthy individual does not have to abandon his principles and beliefs, nor empathy for the plight of the poorly-paid worker or the indigent who have fallen on hard times, or the disabled…just because he is a wealthy individual himself.

I mean, that’s the core difference between these 2 men. One believes that being a high-wealth individual disqualifies you from sympathy for the poor devils, and you are a hypocrite, therefore, if you seek to speak to that.
And then there is the other one, who believes in the eternal struggle against the wealthy in society, in order to get a better deal for those who don’t have as much, due to whatever circumstance, and so sees it as his duty to campaign to force the wealthy to share a little bit of their fortunes with those less fortunate. Even if you are one of ‘The 1%’ yourself.

Therefore, maybe, because Springsteen knows that Christie will never be able to comprehend this basic fact, is why he has no time for him. And never will.

I mean, Chris Christie is the living, breathing embodiment of the (fat) kid who never wanted to share, and thus is the walking, trash-talking epitome of today’s global Conservative Manifesto:

‘I got mine. You can go fuck yourself!’

1,043 thoughts on “Talking At Cross Purposes About Unknown Knowns and Known Unknowns.”

  1. victoria and gravel,
    I’ll do my best to track the program down. It was an ABC24 News Special that I just happened upon as I was passing the TV yesterday, but it was a damn fine piece of work by someone. Had at length interviews with people who told the truth for a change. 🙂

    In the same vein I’m going to make a point of catching the Climate Change Specials this week.

    You know I think this change in perspective may be as a result of the new News Director. I seem to vaguely remember they booted one out and put a new one in last year. If so, and all this change in tenor is a result of that, then good. Maybe in this election year we may see the results flow on to all their programs.

    Which reminds me, Leigh Sales is back on 7.30 tonight. I will be watching with keen interest. She better have picked up on the good vibes Ben Knight was getting when he filled in for her and the Baroque stylings of Chris Uhlmann.

  2. From the ABC ‘The Drum’ website page:

    Current Poll

    Should compulsory preferential voting be scrapped?
    No 70%
    Yes 30%

    4232 votes counted

    Good.

  3. C@t, so now we know what is for supper, what ya cooking for dinner, one of those Barnaby’s special $100 roasts, we hope. 🙂
    Victoria and I are waiting patiently for the name of that program you watched for us to download on iView. Joe6pack gave me the site, and I’m currently watching Adam Hills show, he’s gorgeous. 🙂

  5. gravel,
    I just went for a tour around iView, and for the life of me I cannot find it! So, tomorrow morning I’m going to ring the ABC and try and track it down by speaking to someone in NewsCaf. I will not be deterred! 🙂

    Sorry, Dinner tonight is only Fish and Chips. I did my special Stir Fried Asian Vegetables with 5 Different Sauces, last night. 🙂

  7. CTar,

    I am sure your corned beef will be delicious. Your latest culinary activity reminded me that it has been ages since we have had corned beef. It is one of the few dishes that I am happy for OH to prepare (roast pork is one of the others), as he does it superbly.

    Have I related the story of his interesting omelette?

  8. CTar1,
    Is the fish battered or crumbed?
    Crumbed. Out of the box marked ‘Birds Eye’. 😀

    I live in a place where there is an abundance of fish to catch. Do you think I ever go fishing?

    Can’t stand gutting, filleting and descaling the buggers. 🙂

  13. I could be cashed up tommorow

    JANUARY 15, 2013

    Aquarius, making or receiving an important letter or call regarding money might be on your agenda today, but circumstances beyond your control could delay it. This could prove frustrating. Take care of whatever you have to do. Distract yourself if you have to sit and wait. Nothing is worth stressing over. The call will come in time, so just relax.

  15. If the ABC had any intelligence they would keep Ben Knights to run 7.5 solo and jettison Sales and Uhlmann asap. Knights is probably the only competent journalist the ABC has in its entire organisation.

  16. 6Pack

    [Priest wants families probed in child sexual abuse inquiry”]

    That certainly should have been worded in a better way!

  19. 6Pack

    [The call will come in time, so just relax.]

    That’s exactly the way I feel about my Tatts entries.

  21. Joe6Pack,
    That story was on the ABC News the other day. The PM even had Hetty Johnston along and the all had nice things to say about one another, EXCEPT, Leonie Schrader from Care Leavers Australia. Who, of course, the ABC zeroed in on like a Homing Pigeon coming in to land. 🙂

  22. I think Noosa will succeed with their secession as well, but I think the wash up is going to be incredibly messy – especially after nearly 5 years of the single council. I don’t think the Noosa people know how expensive the split may end up being; and how nasty the stooge Jamieson may be during the break up.

    Interesting times ahead for those in Noosa.

  25. The death of the inquiring mind…the end of curiosity. I am finding it quite difficult where I live to find enthusiasm for the “new” approach to old problems…any interesting observation is usually met with a “too busy” or “where’s the money coming from?” or just plain.: “not interested!”

    I kind of wonder at what point in the last century or perhaps the beginning of this century people seemsd to lose the interest of individual or idiosyncratic inquiry?…I remember in our youth, we would collect the nodules of gum on the trunks of the wattle trees to use to stick on the fletches on our home made arrows….we would think of all sorts of ways to improve our home-made bows…experiment with different saplings etc. Do any of the children do such things now?

    Recently I conducted temperature experiments with mallee mulch and cleared ground….the results were startling….very hard to find any interest..even curiosity..perhaps people knew the results already…mabey they “googled” it!….I cut and cleaned a cross-section of an old bit of native pine from a pug hut here, built in the 1880’s…it dated back to the 1850’s, giving a clear and concise picture of the climate for that period….considering the rainfall records for this area only start from the 1880’s I thought it was interesting!…..not a bar of it!…who gives a toss!..not even curious!..here! shove it up your…….!

    What’s going on? I’m not saying MY particular bits and pieces are the bee’s knees…but no-one else around my part of the world seems to be doing anything of interest save flicking the remote for daytime tele! Is this the result of the dumbing down of an entire population? I read posts here of people doing interesting things…most of us are of a similar age and we seem to have a variety of interests..so tell me..: are you people experiencing the same thing around your neighbourhood?

    Perhaps it is just me!

  28. halloweenjack1
    They will do fine, should never have been amalgamated in the first place.
    Same as douglas in FNQ.
    Was one of Beatties brain farts

  30. jaycee
    Kids aren’t allowed to make bows and arrows any more. They might hurt themselves, or even worse, they might hurt another kid whose parents might sue.

    And I agree with you. No-one cares about clever ideas. It is absolutely all to do with the dumbing down of the population.

    These days it’s considered a virtue to be absolutely useless and completely stupid. Speaking as a woman I’m fed up with useless women boasting about thier lack of ability. They are proud of not being able to cook, or to even manage to sew on a button. They boast about how useless they are. The blokes are no better. These people know all about trivai – what trendy restaurant is serving squid ink (blerk!) pasta this week, or which celebrity is pregnant – but anything more serious, like the name of their local MP what party is in government is ‘too boring’ and they just don’t want to know. Don’t expect this lot to be at all interested in mallee mulch. They won’t even have heard of the word ‘mallee’.

  31. Joe6pack , I wish. No, trying to load a picture of a girl i met at the dump on friday. Did the cut and paste , but no link ? Also how can i get my name back to Lord Barry Bonkton ?

  35. LBB,

    Your picture needs to be on the web before you can show it here. flickr is a popular photo sharing site..

  36. To post images from the web…

    <img src="{ADDRESS OF IMAGE HERE IN QUOTES}" / >

    Notes:

    1. To get the address of the image, right click on it and use “COPY IMAGE LOCATION” (N.B. NOT “COPY IMAGE” or “COPY LINK LOCATION”)

    2. The Forward slash before the concluding > character is said to be essential, but the technique sometimes works without it.

    If you want to include both the image AND a link to an article you can present both and make the image “clickable” to take readers to the link. That is, clicking on the image will automatically take you to the link as well.

    Use this format:

    <a href="{ADDRESS OF LINK HERE IN QUOTES}"><img src="{ADDRESS OF IMAGE HERE IN QUOTES}" / ></a>

  37. jaycee

    my kids and I used to spend hours happily making bows from wattle trees and our own arrows (we experimented with a variety of twigs for those).

  40. No body is talking about Tone-And OM leaving it alone so I am guessing he’s left the scene and is on hols.No heroic firefighting fighting pics have emerged of him, although I’ve seen plenty of others.
    Bushfire Bill love your work – and I thougth Mr Abbott fitted right in with The Village People- as “:the Fireman”

  45. Joe brings up an interesting point a couple of posts above.

    When the image is not as wide as the available space, you can center and re-size it by adding an extra command.

    <img src=”http://liveimages.industrysales.com.au/trucksales/general/content/gc5075712244861762922.jpg? width=300 ” class=”aligncenter” / >

    Changes:

    to

    Adding class=”aligncenter” before the last / aligns the image centrally in the post and sizes it to fit the available space.

  49. Belated apologies to the Dawn Patrollers!
    When I got up very early this morning there was no internet connection. It was not restored until, I am told, about lunch time.
    So better luck tomorrow morning I say.

  50. Hey Joe , is that your Titan ? Worked for Macks for about 10 yrs in Pre-Delivery and worked my way up to Q.A and use to inspect them and road test them. Road tested the first two Tridents from Special build.They were my favorite model.

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