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| Dinner Party Politics: How Dynasties Still Rule America |
Dinner Party Politics: How Dynasties Still Rule America
Hundreds of years ago, all policy was settled at the dinner tables of kings and popes. Marriage alliances were made, treaties agreed upon, and the quality of one's dessert might affect the likelihood of one's going to war.
Today, surprisingly, this has not changed at all, at least not in America . Still, small groups of people in a few key positions determine what the direction of the country is and should be. And still, marriage alliances are made, treaties agreed upon, and war made all in the space of a dinner party.
Political Families: Democratic Royalty
The Adamses . The Tafts. The Roosevelts. The Kennedies and Shrivers. And today, the Bushes. These are only a few of the political families that have been active in the United States. Currently, the Bush-Walker family is on top, with a president, an ex-president, a governor and an ex-governor – all in a single nuclear family of father, mother, and sons. There are dozens of others, cousins and peripheral relatives, with lower-level political offices or appointments.
How does this happen? Well, with relatives come connections. Even though we have rules upon rules barring nepotism, it's still easy for the son of the company president to get a job, and in a democratic election all holds are off.
But there's more to it. In most of these families, you'll also find other ingredients: great wealth, good fortune, attendance at elite universities (whether warranted or not), and movement in the same circles as other wealthy, fortunate, elitist Americans.
In America , we believe everyone has the same opportunity as everyone else. But that's not entirely true; the very wealthy, the very priviledge, and the very connected have a better chance than the rest of us. We have created a self-perpetuating political elite. And it's not just in the Bushes. John Kerry married into wealth after being born into Boston aristocracy and acquiring a priviledged education, and is now the richest man in the senate. Al Gore was the son of a senator, educated at private schools, St. Albans, and Harvard. Howard Dean was born into the Hamptons social circle, grew up on Park Avenue, and lived in the same world as the Bushes; one of the Dean grandmothers had a Bush grandmother as a bridesmaid.
America likes to see itself as different from the aristocratic, blue-blooded, class-bound, royalty-conscious Brits. Yet 60% of our upper-level politicians were educated at the same handful of schools, have the same background, and are from rich families. Britain does not have the same problem. We are more class-bound today than Great Britain. Dynastic ties from family to family tie the upper classes ever more tightly, and lock out the lower classes. Social circles interlock, and social exclusion is becoming a powerful political tool; while Howard Dean does not want Bush to win any more elections, he'd probably rather elections at least go to someone with his background than an unknown quantity. You can find an appallingly long list on Wikipedia of American political families; these are only a couple of dozens.
And at the bottom, the working class carry everyone, as they always have. Only in the United States, they are blissfully unaware of the fact that they are being taken advantage of, and even blatantly lied to. For in the same circles as the political elite, in those wealthy circles, you can find dozens of upper-level members of America's other ruling class – the press.
The Press: Watchdog or Lap Dog?
Though considerably more subtly than the political families, the other leg of American social politics is largely supported by the press. Since the time of Benjamin Franklin, the press has been a strong influence on America and the way Americans think; as William Randolph Hearst said, though, "He who owns the press, has freedom of the press."
In many ways, the real power over American hearts and minds comes from the papers and magazines they read. This has always been a truth, but the power of the press has grown stronger as the population has grown larger and more literate. Today, few Americans have actually met their own leaders, while in the first years of America many could proudly say they served directly under their country's president when he was only General Washington.
This means we know only what we are told, and the teller of the political story is the American press. If, however, the creator of myth is related closely or friends with the hero of the myth, what then?
But our press today has more of the celebrity than of Ben Franklin about it. Since our reporters discovered the television camera and the instant celebrity of their faces in it, they've been more interested in becoming media stars than in winning a Pulitzer prize.
And why not? It's an easier, more definable goal. All you have to do is move up the ladder, go to the right schools or be born into the right media families – get the idea? If you need proof, try this:
AOL-Time Warner's Mike Kelly was born into the Chicago Kellys, a powerful political family. He started his career volunteering to work in George McGovern's presidential campaign.
William Randolph Hearst was involved in politics as well as newspapers, and he held office as a US senator and ran for governor once and mayor twice. His father was a US senator and ran for California governor. Everyone in the Hearst family had access to Hearst empire jobs. Hearst also moved in the early Hollywood circles.
Katie Couric, with most of her experience in infotainment, is moving to an anchor position. Why? People like her.
These disparate journalists show two things: first, that the link between politics and journalism is tighter than most of us want to admit, and second, that the line between news and entertainment is growing more and more blurred.
Add to this the fact that top media representatives move in the same circles as politicians – of necessity, to have access to the news, but it's hard to work with a charming politician and remain objective. Politicians, too, depend on media to get out the "right" message; a sought-after job for Washington media is press secretary to a major political figure. And many of the media who move in the political circles have the same upper-class, elite, private-school background as the politicians they cover.
There is not a lot of difference between the political and media backgrounds, when you look at them. In both cases, the relative obscurity of these facts, the failure of media to talk about this elitist background, and the truism that "the very wealthy are different from you and I" adds up to a very frightening conclusion: ordinary American citizens are no longer in charge of the ship. It's something America needs to face, and soon. |
| Average rating: 5 | Add 25 Apr 06 Herold from Tribune |
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