When I was a little kid, I was taught that America was about liberty and freedom for all. As I learned more about American history, reality began to poke some holes in that notion. America definitely wasn’t about liberty and freedom for the indigenous people who arrived here before us, nor was it about liberty and freedom for the indentured African people we brought here, nor was it about liberty and freedom for women. Or the Irish. Or Asian people. Or the Jews. Or pretty much anyone who wasn’t a white guy who owned land.
Some might argue that liberty and freedom for all gradually did arrive in America, but its future is a lot like a glass coffin: remains to be seen.
Is America about democracy, about every person having their voice heard?
Sure, unless you live in a heavily gerrymandered district, in which case your vote and five dollars will get you a cup of coffee downtown.
Is America about the unique rights that are protected by our U.S. Constitution?
Nah, we’re not really big on that whole “Constitution” thing anymore. On “Meet the Press” last week, moderator Kristen Welker asked President Donald Trump, “Don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?”
“I don’t know,” Trump replied.
He SHOULD know, given that the oath of office he’s taken twice now is one sentence long and half of it is about upholding the Constitution, but it’s become clear that the current administration is really only keen on the gun amendment and not so hot on the amendments that prevent people from being shuttled off to brutal prison camps in El Salvador.
No, in my estimation, America is mainly about one thing:
The freedom to consume.
As much as this might sound like the start of a George Carlin rant about how you can’t buy a black T-shirt that doesn’t have a logo on it anymore, I’m afraid I’m no George Carlin. I like buying stuff. It’s fun. I’ll admit it.
Say I go to the grocery store and I need to buy some cheese. I appreciate the fact that I have dozens of different options, even hundreds depending on the store. I can buy all different kinds of cheese from all different manufacturers. I can buy it in blocks or pre-shredded. I can buy a variety formulated to melt faster on nachos. I can even buy non-dairy vegan cheese that exists in defiance of the laws of nature.
There’s a famous story that on Sept. 16, 1989, Boris Yeltsin was visiting Houston to see the Space Center and stopped by a Randall’s grocery store afterward. The grocery store visit was more eventful than the Space Center visit. Yeltsin was floored by the variety and abundance of products available for sale. He told the Russians in his entourage that if the Russian people could see what a U.S. supermarket looked like, “there would be a revolution.” There’s an argument to be made that America’s abundant store shelves proved to the Russian leadership that capitalism, not communism, was their only path forward.
We can’t boast that we have the best healthcare in the world. We can’t say that we have affordable housing. We can’t brag that we have more freedom than any other country on Earth. But if you want to buy an enormous TV for $200, then by God, America is the country for you.
Which is why I’m increasingly feeling like the Trump administration has completely lost the thread.
If you’ve been existing in America for the last 100 days or so, I guarantee that you’ve had someone tell you that something is either more expensive or about to become more expensive because of Trump’s tariffs. It’s happened to me multiple times. In fact, between writing the last paragraph and this one, my plumber told me that if I don’t get a certain repair done within the next 30 days, the price will assuredly go up due to tariffs.
I have some niche nerd hobbies, and there are several products related to those hobbies that are about to disappear from our country, possibly never to return. Here’s just one example that you’re welcome to confirm for yourself: there’s a company called 8BitDo that makes controllers for retro video game consoles. They announced about a week ago that they’re no longer shipping their products to the U.S. from China. This is one of the biggest companies in the retro video gaming sphere, and they’re about to just disappear from our country.
And then, in an interview from Air Force One, Trump told reporters that supply shortages caused by his tariffs aren’t really a big deal.
“All I’m saying is that a young lady, a 10 year old girl, a 9 year old girl, a 15 year old girl, doesn’t need 37 dolls,” Trump said. “She could be very happy with two or three or four or five.”
“Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” Trump said in another interview. “So maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.”
Yeah, and maybe that little girl will appreciate the dolls even more if she has to wait in a line for five hours with a bunch of babushkas. Perhaps the kindly storekeeper will gift her a roll of toilet paper and a cabbage as a treat.
I realize it’s hard to understand the struggles of real Americans when you were born into immense wealth and have never had the unpleasant experience of breaking a sweat without a golf club in your hand. But what’s absolutely insane to me is the justifications that Trump’s supporters come up with for fewer products on store shelves at higher prices.
I saw a news story on Facebook the other day that Land Rover was pausing shipments of vehicles to the U.S. as they figured out how they would be impacted by tariffs. About 90% of the commenters thought this was great, as those vehicles are for rich people and we don’t need them anyway.
It’s wild to see people who claim to hate Communism parrot old-school Communist talking points. Yes comrades, who needs a Land Rover when you can own an affordable Lada 2101? I bet a Land Rover can’t run on kerosene cut with vodka! It’s the People’s Car!
I cannot believe that I have been put in a situation where I’m spending 1000-plus words offering a full-throated defense of capitalism, yet here we are.
You could make the argument that people in this country need to consume less. Sure, we could all stand to buy less worthless junk and we would all benefit from planting a victory garden and raising our own chickens.
However, that’s a choice I’d like to make myself rather than having it thrust upon me by a government that doesn’t understand what a trade deficit is. Furthermore, I’m not here to judge others for buying unnecessary items. If a shelf full of Funko Pop figurines makes you happy, I celebrate that. We seem to be experiencing a nationwide shortage of happiness just lately, and if a new video game or a branded insulated mug gives you a brief spark of joy, embrace it.
But I guess I’m just too much of a capitalist for our current administration. Just like the Communists, the working people must now make sacrifices for the greater good.
Like Trump said, “derzhat’sya krepko.” If you don’t read Russian, that means “hang tough.”
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