A couple of days ago at
The Daily Beast I argued that the July 1, 1974 cover of
People magazine (above) provided a great benchmark to discuss the
question of social, technological, and economic progress over the
past four decades.
Telly Savalas—born in the early 1920s, a World War II vet, and
beloved as the eponymous star of TV’s Kojak—was an
alternative type of cultural icon in his day. And things have only
gotten weirder and more wonderful and totally better
since then.
We’re in The Great Stagnation, don’t you know, and
technological and economic momentum has conked out like the engine
on a 1977 Chevy Vega. What we really “need is more Apollo-like
projects” but we’re too chicken-shit and beat-down to think BIG
anymore. Or maybe we just need one of those bogus “alien
invasions” that Paul Krugman is always flapping his gums
about.
The middle class can’t
afford nothing no more, Amazon’s warehouse workers are
“today’s coal miners,” and even bomb-crazy and jihad-suffering
Middle Easternersare more optimistic about the future than
Americans and Europeans. The Experts (with a
capital E!) have spoken: We’ve reached The
End of Progress.So back to Savalas, and bear with me here. Cue up Telly’s
incomparable semi-parlando rendering of If. Get
lost in the Aegean-deep pools of Telly’s eyes and marvel at his
gold-chain-and-bracelet set. As you contemplate a naked celebrity
torso apparently unfamiliar with any form of exercise, let’s count
the ways in which the world has not just gotten a little bit better
but a whole fucking lot better since Kojak was on the case.
As we contemplate the midterm elections (oy) and the choices
spread before like a patient etherized upon a table, read
the whole thing.
And also take a look at
Reason’s special landing page about the past, present, and
glorious future of the medium formerly known as
television.
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