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November 27, 2006
Rank and File
by Nova Stubbs, insurgent49

This Is Our Country

    On Sundays, I sit down with the family to watch some good old American football. This may sound strange to those who know me, but I married into it and have come to enjoy this family ritual. Besides, what could be more American than watching a sport that is only really popular in the US?

    And on every Sunday, along with the many hours of touchdown excitement and interception disappointment, I am also treated to an overwhelming number of television advertisements from commercial America.
 
    Corporations dole out millions just to get a tiny time slot in between timeouts. It is sad really, but none the less it is American capitalism at its finest. Beer, erectile dysfunction drugs, and of course big manly truck commercials fill up the screen like no other. If you are a NFL football viewer like myself, you understand. If not, you should take a minute one Sunday and turn on your tube to view this gluttonous phenomenon; you will be amazed … and maybe a little sick to your stomach.

    Within the past few months, there has been one commercial in particular that stands out and is played more frequently than all others. Anyone here remember eighties rock star legend John Cougar Mellencamp, who sang that little ditty about Jack and Diane? Well, he’s back with a Chevy contract deal and a song titled “Our Country”. He is famous once again for bellowing out lyrics such as “so let the voice of freedom sing out through this land … This is our country.” Meanwhile, images of “great” America flash on the screen, with the latest and greatest manly Chevy Silverado sitting in the background.

    Yep, the gas guzzling “I have a large penis” man-truck is currently representing American patriotism.

    The sad truth is that the Chevy slogan “Our Country, Our Truck,” is representative of an American mentality that is unable to separate capitalism from patriotism. The official definition of patriotism goes something like this “a feeling of love and devotion to one's own homeland.”

    I have love and I am devoted, but I sure as hell am not going to put my life savings into a truck. As far as I know most people who own such vehicles rarely actually use them for their intended purpose anyway. It seems to be more of a “check out my fancy truck” mentality.

    So, on Sundays I get football, family, and a little pissed off at the materialism of our country. Every few Sunday,s Chevy comes out with new images to fit its Mellencamp “anthem.” The most recent one had me in hysterics, as images of America’s history, coupled with Chevy trucks, filled the screen. From the days of the Dust Bowl Depression, to the end of WWII, to the time when “man” first walked on the moon. It was, well, glorious. However, as my husband pointed out, Chevy seemed to have omitted one very important scene: the one with the soldier who had returned from Iraq without his legs.

    And this is “Our Country.”

    As fellow football fans know, there is always a game or two on Thanksgiving Day. My team, the Detroit Lions, always plays on this holiday. This year, John Fogerty had the opportunity to rock the halftime show. Unfortunately, he sounded pretty awful as he played a medley of Credence Clearwater Revival songs. He closed with Fortunate Son, an anti-war song from the Vietnam War era, and although the sound was not flattering the song, it made my husband and I feel proud, at least for a moment, and yes … a little patriotic.

    After the halftime show ended, commercials lit up the screen once again, and I left the room to avoid that damn Mellencamp song. Unfortunately, I still got an ear full sometime during the second half, and the Lions ended up losing 27-10 to boot.

    Despite the loss, and thanks to Fogerty, I still have hopes that one day this will be “Our Country,” and not in the way Mr. John Cougar (who should have left it at Jack and Diane) Mellencamp means, but in the belief that feelings of love and devotion for America will one day be placed in the hands of the people who are not consumed by our capatalist ways … but rather by those who are attempting to make this country a better place.


 


      Nova Stubbs is a freelance writer and activist, and is co-founder of Insurgent49. Nova resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage and may be contacted at nova@insurgent49.com.

     'Rank and File' appears on insurgent49.com every Monday.

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in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership.