Divided We Fail: An impotent plea of nothingness and a grand waste of time and money
Perhaps you’ve already seen a snazzy commercial for Divided We Fail, a “call to action” led by the AARP, Business Roundtable, SEIU, and NFIB. With the help of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF), Divided We Fail put out this PSA showing celebrities being ordinary folk, while talking about their commitment to the non-partisan saving of the U.S. economy and healthcare system.
Starring Ben Affleck, Garth Brooks, Dakota Fanning, Morgan Freeman, Eva Mendes, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Piven and Reese Witherspoon, the PSA is basically a silly tribute to the phrase “why can’t we all just get along.”
“The entertainment industry’s leadership felt that we could make a major contribution to Divided We Fail,” said MPTF Foundation Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. “Hollywood can call attention to these problems and help galvanize the public into taking action, which is a key first step in solving them.”
Now, far be it for me to insult any effort that claims at its core that all it wants is to make America better. But simply put, Divided We Fail is a stupid, naïve and impotent project. It’s quite easy to see why celebrities were so eager to get involved. It gives them a chance to look like serious, politically minded activists who truly care. But much like a great many of the actors that dominate the American entertainment landscape, it’s all sound and fury signifying nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Thus far, 244 members of Congress has signed Divided We Fail’s “pledge” or accepted their insipid and meaningless “platform”. I would imagine before it’s over, every last member of Congress will climb on board. There’s absolutely no downside to pledging to the platform, because at it’s heart, the platform is political empty calories.
What does Divided We Fail want? They want a better healthcare system and better long-term financial security for Americans. And they don’t want partisanship. That’s what the problem is, after all. They have no answers or even concepts of how to make these things happen, but that’s what they stand for. And they’re very serious about it.
We stand as strong champions for the new American dream — to build a 21st century America where these issues are paramount so that all people can have the opportunity for a prosperous future. We also believe that individuals, businesses, health care providers, non-profit organizations, and government must work together to find solutions - personally, privately and publicly. We represent tens of millions of Americans and we believe that all of us share a responsibility for making our society work and restoring peace of mind to all Americans.
This is our platform for positive change and our commitment to current and future generations.
Divided We Fail, but together we can do anything.
Wow, that’s impressive stuff, on par with, say, every last speech given by every high-school valedictorian for the past several decades. Basically, it’s meaningless claptrap. But it’s the perfect grandiose-yet-meaningless type of platform that makes perfect sense for these celebrities.
They don’t have to say anything about the two wars going on at this very moment. That would make them seem un-American. They don’t have to pick a side between political parties, therefore they don’t alienate Republicans or Democrats. They don’t ask for Universal Healthcare, that’s socialist. In fact, they don’t actually say anything except “we want affordable healthcare and for people to have more money.” Who can argue with that?
But it’s all a complete load of nothingness. Really, look at their platform. Follow the links. Some of their big points:
– “Lack of exercise and overeating, smoking and drinking too much, pose a growing threat to our nation’s health.”
– “Imagine an America with affordable, quality health care. Let’s work to guide our nation’s policymakers to commit to and achieve changes that will restore America’s peace of mind.”
– “Financial security in retirement is a promise that must be kept. Social Security must be strengthened to meet the needs of Americans.”
– “If you work hard all your life, it’s only fair that you should be able to retire with dignity. That’s the American dream, and we need to make that dream a reality.”
– “All Americans need to learn more about how to earn, spend, save, invest, and protect their own money.”
Of course, they give not even one idea or even theory on how any of this should be done. It truly is an empty campaign that appears to take place in some weird alternate reality where politicians aren’t already owned by corporations and where partisan politics will disappear if Reese Witherspoon shops for enough shoes, Joaquin Phoenix washes enough dishes and Ben Affleck builds enough dollhouses.
I just can’t stress this enough - Divided We Fail is a moronic, self-indulgent, farcical load of crap. It’s a bunch of groups getting together and wasting money that could go to much better use. It’s an opportunity to pander to Americans and come off as politically active, while not taking a stand on anything.
Any way it’s added up, Divided We Fail is an utter failure.
–WKW
March 27th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Doing nothing and making it seem like you did something is what Hollywood does best.
All the wrong people in this country have outrage for all the wrong reasons and overly abuse the privilege of being outraged. Those who should be outraged and make a public and open stand on that outrage would rather talk about bipartisanship and cooperation and other such tripe for suckers and wimps.
Why the fear? Open and hostile partisanship and conflict is the only way things get done in this country. I suppose that type of ugliness would not reflect well on DC’s corporate sponsors. Bad for the brands and whatnot.