On Political and Cultural Misprision

2011-11-05T18:00:00.009-04:00

We live in interesting, if terrifying, times.

If any doubt remained as to whether the course of history is guided by an underlying, teleological unity, surely the last decade (and in particular, the last four years) has extirpated it. We are clearly freewheeling in a world of catastrophic potentialities, a world mismanaged by diluted and fractured political institutions, and besieged by seemingly irreconcilable religious, social, technological and economic differences.

The infantile nature of the current political discourse is one of the surest signs that we have abandoned history and entered a period of relative decline. The far right has wrested control of the national narrative, positing a set of ideologies that is anathema to reason and a threat to progress. By throwing a wrench into the rusting social and political machinery of the country, the right (in particular, the current GOP presidential candidates) has hacked the discourse to a stump that is incapable of supporting tenable solutions to the many deep, overwhelming threats we face both as a nation and global community. In fact, many of these people cannot elaborate issues of true moral gravitas, which ought to proscribe us from vesting any of them with power. Should we, as a nation, be as concerned with the issue of gay marriage or fencing off the Mexican border as we should be about income inequality and abject national academic performance, both of which are transforming the democratic republic of the United States into an oligarchy? What of the unforeseeable consequences of "democratization" in the Middle East or Iran's pursuit of an offensive nuclear capability?

Notwithstanding its meager collection of virtues (a modest neoconservatism and liberal economy have their merits), American-branded conservatism appeals to our darker impulses; indeed, for decades now, modern American conservatives have been conducting a torrid love affair with provincial ignorance. Here, the epistemic limitations of the fear-mongering, vulgarly reductive, plebeian anti-intellectuals have managed to arrest scientific and social advancement, denigrate cultural ingenuity, and profane the cosmopolitan ethic.

They have drowned out President Obama, a man wraith-like in his unexpected and unwelcome invisibility – now an almost marginal figure within the body politic. On the other side of the aisle, the sole voice of reason among GOP candidates, Jon Huntsman Jr., remains inconsequential.

Is this all a joke? If so, I've missed the punchline.

Introduction

2011-10-12T02:37:00.002-04:00

Culture Snacks is devoted to "casual" disquisitions on history, politics, philosophy, and contemporary life.

Ultimately, however, Culture Snacks is a personal archive, of interest mostly to myself (and thus a useful tool for ex post facto meditationis personali) and a few kindred spirits.

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

Last night I prepared my first boeuf bourguignon but forgot the pearl onions. And the bacon, tomato paste, and mushrooms. Yet not all was lost: my stew was saved by the addition of carrots, Yukon potatoes and turnips, which lent an earthy, autumnal sweetness.

The dish is a product of medieval peasant ingenuity. To wit, the birth of boeuf bourguignon was driven by the engine of necessity. Basic recipes call for cheap, available cuts of beef and common root vegetables.

In later centuries, the nostalgia and sentimentality of the upper classes elevated peasant cuisine en haut. Today, traditional iterations of boeuf bourguignon prize the famous Charolais cattle native to Burgundy, and the use of higher quality wines is encouraged. At Fairway on East 86th Street, I purchased a saran-wrapped serving of chuck – decidedly not Charolais.

My decision to prepare boeuf bourguignon was motivated by its own distinct sentimentality and nostalgia. Its preparation and consumption was almost an act of mourning – mourning for the childhood memory of my mother's cooking, for the months I spent in France, and for the year whose conclusion October heralds.

Below is a photograph of my rendering of boeuf bourguignon (I have a lot of left overs. Feel free to stop by for a taste!):