Torches of Freedom

"I never smoked a cigarette until I was nine." - H. L. Mencken

I just finished reading a book titled The Cigarette Century by author Allan M. Brandt. The sub-heading on the book's cover describes it thusly: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America. It is certainly no exaggeration to argue that the cigarette was indeed the dominant consumer product of the American 20th Century. Indeed, by the mid-point of the century more then half of all American adults were habitual cigarette smokers. That by itself is quite remarkable when you consider that the cigarette was scarcely in evidence when the century began.

A century ago, the cigarette was widely viewed as a "dirty habit", and a disreputable form of tobacco consumption. A mechanical means of rolling cigarettes, all of a uniform quality, was only the first step in the process of turning them into the preferred method of consuming tobacco. Just as important, was the campaign to change the public perception of cigarettes. In fact, that campaign marked the birth of modern advertising and marketing. The tobacco companies were aided immensely by the advent of the First World War. When asked what the nation could do to assist in the war effort, General Pershing famously answered "You ask me what I need to win this war. I answer tobacco, as much as bullets.". And by "tobacco", he meant cigarettes.

Once they had secured the rights of male smokers, the tobacco interests turned their attention to the "disenfranchised" half of the population. Consequently, in the hands of shrewd marketers, cigarettes became "torches of freedom". It was considered socially unacceptable for woman to smoke in public, right up through the 1930's, and the industry set out to knock down those barriers. In an era that saw woman struggling to attain equal status with men, the very act of smoking in public became a powerful statement of equality. The result was an astonishing increase in cigarette sales.

Throughout the first-half of the 20th century, the tobacco industry enjoyed a period of sustained growth that was literally without precedent. The cigarette, and smokers, became ubiquitous. The industry spent liberally on advertising, and the ads always featured happy and attractive people enjoying the good life, of which the cigarette was an integral part. Hollywood pitched in with the result that you could hardly find a movie in which the stars didn't smoke cigarettes. The cigarette quickly became an indispensable prop in cinema, an object that could be employed to convey any number of meanings. In 1950, the outlook couldn't have been brighter for the industry.

Then, came the fall. Over the course of the second-half of the 20th century, the tobacco industry went from being respected and admired, to being castigated as lying "merchants of death". The industry fought back ferociously with every tool at it's disposal, legal and otherwise to create and sustain a "controversy" over the scientific evidence. The industry managed, in the face of overwhelming evidence that their product poisoned and killed it's users, to continue promoting and selling cigarettes.

The list of crimes that one can level at the tobacco industry is a long one. Topping it of course, would be the deliberate addicting of generations of children, many of whom would be consigned to a slow and painful death by way of lung cancer, emphysema, or any one of a host of other serious medical conditions, all attributable to years of smoking cigarettes. One would be hard-pressed to find a more convincing case of corporate malfeasance. And yet, they are still in business. The story of how that came to be would take up much more space then I am willing to dedicate to it right now. Maybe another time...

Brown is the New Green

Pray Baby Pray

Quite a few of us are wondering why Obama hasn't
moved to take control, of the response to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, away from BP. Certainly by now, over a month into it and with no end in sight, the president must be aware that BP is making this up as it goes along. They had no plan for one simple reason: the arrogant bastards never thought that they would need one. And no one demanded that they have one.

Admiral Thad W. Allen from the Coast Guard says, in effect, that only BP has the expertise and the technology to respond to something of this magnitude. But, BP has clearly demonstrated that they haven't a clue. So what Allen is really saying is that our government does not have the capability to step in and replace BP. And you know what? He is absolutely correct.

Of what use is an aircraft carrier in an emergency like this? Or, a nuclear submarine? Can we bomb the hole that BP punched in the ocean floor and stop the geyser of crude oil that is killing the Gulf? I read that we don't have the kinds of submarines that BP is using to try and shut of the flow. No, the kind of submarines that we possess are expensive, dangerous, and utterly useless in a situation like this one.

It would seem that our best brains, and most of our budget, is directed at producing ever more exotic and lethal ways to destroy ourselves. A half-million dollar piece of equipment that might have stopped the leak before it began was deemed both expensive, and unnecessary, by BP. At this point, no one can estimate just how much this will eventually cost. But, rest assured that if the cost is too high, BP will not hesitate to declare bankruptcy and walk away from the mess they created. Only the most naive of fools believes that a corporation would put the welfare of animals and human beings ahead of it's own interests.

Governor McDonnell's Rebel Yell

Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell is being said to have "stumbled" badly with his decision to announce that April would be "Confederate History Month" in Virginia. McDonnell's office issued a proclamation to that effect, one that, unbelievably, managed to omit any mention whatsoever of slavery. The governor then, when confronted with an entirely predictable uproar, tried to rationalize the omission by explaining that "There were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia." He then dug himself in deeper by mentioning tourism as being a significant factor in his calculations.

I am wrestling with this a bit as I try to decide how to approach it. First of all, I am not at all convinced that McDonnell was in any way surprised by the reaction to his proclamation. The governor, or at least someone in his office, had to know that there would be a ferocious backlash almost immediately. That they chose to go ahead, regardless of the consequences, leads me to almost believe that they welcomed the controversy. It is not exactly a secret that McDonnell is being outflanked on his right by Virginia's attorney general Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II. So, what better way to shore up your conservative bona fides then by invoking the glorious "Lost Cause"? It really is quite ingenious. First you issue a proclamation that is sure to provoke a strong reaction from just about everybody. Then, weather the storm for a day or two before making the obligatory apology, followed up by calls to various civil-rights leaders.

My decision to use images of both the Confederate Battle Flag, and the battle flag of the Third Reich, is obviously designed to provoke an emotional response. Southerners will undoubtedly cry foul, and condemn any association with a government as odious as Hitler's. The point that I'm trying to get across is simply that both flags stand for things that are basically repulsive to a good many people. During the Civil Rights Era, the rebel flag was used by opponents of desegregation as a symbol of defiance, and it is impossible to ignore that history. My thinking is that both flags should be consigned to museums where they can be used for educational purposes. They should not be flying over government buildings in either the United States or Germany. Yes, they are a part of history, but it is not a history that anyone should be celebrating.

Sons of Anarchy

I just finished reading a rather astonishing call-to-arms from a blogger who is fond of historical allusions, yet is either oblivious or dismissive of the more recent history of mobs breaking glass. The blogger, Mike Vanderboegh of Pinson, Alabama, calls upon the "modern Sons of Liberty" to "Break their windows. Break them now". What he is doing is inciting individuals to go to the homes and offices of members of Congress, specifically those who voted for what he labels as "Nancy Pelosi's Intolerable Act" (Health Care Reform), and then break the windows of the buildings. Now the first thing that comes to mind is whether or not Mr. Vanderboegh himself intends to cast the first stone in defense of liberty. My guess would be probably not, but you never know.

Exactly where were all of these "modern Sons of Liberty", or Three Percenters, over the eight long years of George W Bush's Reign? They didn't find anything "intolerable" about any of his acts? Vanderboegh invokes the sacking and burning of Massachusetts Lt. Governor Thomas Hutchinson's home in August of 1765 by the original Sons of Liberty, presumably to lend some heroic luster to what amounts to acts of vandalism. Nice try Mike, but chucking a brick through Nancy Pelosi's window and then running off like a common thief is not going to transform you into Sam Adams. Of course you could always use an empty Sam Adams as your projectile, but then you'd have to forfeit the 5 cent bottle deposit. Whoever said "Freedom isn't Free" must have anticipated your splendid rebellion.

My suspicion is that a couple of centuries, and much mythologizing, have combined to scrub away the sins of those original Sons of Liberty. Thomas Hutchinson, whatever his failings as a man and as a governor, was a learned man who had been working for years on a history of the Bay Colony. He home contained a valuable library and things of beauty, not to mention his family. A family that was forced to flee for their lives as a drunken mob attacked their home and proceeded to pillage and burn it down. The first thing they went for was the wine cellar. After it was over, the manuscript for his book lay trampled in the mud. To me, the sacking of Thomas Hutchinson's home was an act of barbarism.

Patriot leaders, like the aforementioned Sam Adams, sought to harness the power of the mob to incite a revolution. But the last thing they wanted to see happen was a social revolution, one that might threaten the sanctity of property and their own privileged positions. As a result, most were horrified by the spectacle of mobs of rabble putting elegant homes to the torch. It was all to easy to imagine their own homes meeting the same fate. Instead, they wanted a revolution that would leave the existing social structure intact. A conservative revolution, if you will. And that is exactly what they achieved.

Urban Cowboys

I've been working through all of my accumulated hours of videotape these past weeks. This video is a highlight reel of Andrew's baseball season from the Spring of 2005. I was working at Hill Holliday New York at the time, and one of my coworkers put this terrific video together. I have since taught myself how to make movies, but my efforts never seem to quite measure up to the always excellent results that Annie achieved.

The location of the baseball field is Murphy Brothers Park, on the East Side of Manhattan, nestled alongside the FDR Drive at 18th Street and Avenue C. The brick buildings behind the field are Stuyvesant Town, and you can also see the ConEd Plant looming behind the fences. It may not look like a Norman Rockwell painting, but it is baseball just the same.

Wise Guys

Earlier today a viewer made a rather unexpected comment regarding one of my youtube videos. The video in question is titled "PS 40 5th Grade Play", and is exactly what the name implies. I taped the entire play, trimmed it down to about 7 minutes, and then uploaded it to my youtube channel. Anyway, the viewer's comment was "This was the school that mob boss Lucky Luciano attended". And, lo and behold, it appears that he is correct.

Did anyone know that NYC has a museum dedicated to organized crime? I made that discovery while attempting to verify my viewer's claim. The grandly named Museum of the American Gangster is housed in a former speakeasy, and is located at 80 St. Marks Place in Manhattan. If you follow this link to their web page about Mr. Luciano, then you will see that he did indeed attend the same school as my son Andrew. It would seem that the famous Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky attended PS 40 as well, and the school is where the two boys began a life-long friendship.

I recall reading something several years back about efforts to build an organized crime museum out in Las Vegas. And I remember thinking that a museum like that belongs in New York City. Nearly all of the iconic mob figures hailed from NYC, including Chicago's Al Capone, who was born in Brooklyn. I'm not certain what happened with the Vegas project, but I am very much looking forward to paying my first visit to that former speakeasy.

Andrew is quite impressed that such a infamous character attended the same school that he just graduated from this past year. Andrew has heard of Al Capone, but not Charles "Lucky" Luciano. I told him that Luciano helped us with the invasion of Sicily in WWII by establishing contact with his counterparts in Italy, and urging them not to cooperate with the Germans and Italians defending the Island. Whatever he did was deemed valuable enough to spring him from prison, but he was deported to Italy immediately. Meyer Lansky is an equally fascinating character. I think that he was the inspiration for the Jewish mob boss in The Godfather movies.

Andrew took on the role of President Kennedy in the play and delivered a condensed version of his inaugural address. He enjoyed playing the president, but I suspect that if we had known this sooner, Andrew would have made a pitch for including the school's most notorious alumni in the play. He already had the dark suit; all that was missing was the fedora and violin case.