A Littleness of the Soul
All of my amorphous distaste for the word ‘foodie,’ my squirming discomfort when such a term is applied to myself; the revulsion I feel for ‘turkduckins’ and balut; and the hatred I feel towards people who let themselves lose all temperance in the face of any food-related novelty –all these things were encapsulated and articulated brilliantly in this scathing article. Thank you, Mr. Myers.
I was absolutely disgusted by this piece from The Atlantic, not least because –at least to some extent -- I know people like that. I have friends like that, relatives. I even behave like that a little bit sometimes - or more than a little bit. And after a while, I feel some kind of vague guilt, some sense of un-rightness, in such gratuitous excess. At some point, I just want to get away from it all: eat a plain leafy salad, drink some tap water, let my taste buds rest along with my conscience and wallet. Mr. Myers shines a spotlight on that impulse, on all the reasons to feel guilty about ‘foodie-ism.’ It gives me hope that there are people who are willing to be critical, to take the time to slash through such self-indulgence, no matter how pleasurable it may be. Myers quotes Livy when he says, “The Roman historian [Livy] famously regarded the glorification of chefs as the sign of a culture in decline.” He is absolutely right. Hedonism marks a serious decay in our ability to find hope and joy in something other than the most basic human processes.
Perhaps this article doesn’t quite fit in a foreign and domestic policy blog, but when such a huge, socially influential movement achieves such a central spot in the public mind and is so blatantly unhealthy and unsustainable, it does warrant concern. These kinds of articles inform many important policy issues, including environmental sustainability, business (restaurant, blogging, journalism, and even TV industries profit from such an obsession), and the obesity epidemic (when the ideal of ‘good food’ is as unsustainable and unhealthy as the cheapest junk from the dollar store, where do you find a healthy role model?). Not to mention, the deteriorating moral fiber in America. Littleness of the soul indeed.
In any case, take a look at the article. If nothing else, it is an insightful and entertaining polemic.
