Running
on the Corporate TicketRunning
on the Corporate Ticket
Bush and Nike compete for office
Has our participation in our government strayed so far from the ideals of democracy that we can now elect a doll or a shoe to the most powerful country in the world? Is this the zenith of consumer culture — we don’t elect a man (or a woman), but instead a product?
Two recent examples of capitalism gone wild are the new President Bush action figures being retailed at KB Toys for $39.95 and the new Nike ad campaign that advertises a new line of shoes coming out this month. Bush, in doll form, comes dressed in full United States Air Force gear — never mind that he didn’t report to duty for month stretches while his less privileged peers were trudging through Vietnam. The new Nike ads that have taken over bus stops along State Street and Michigan Avenue feature phrases like “Cast your own ballot in the Niketown runner’s lounge,” and “Nike Shox support the people” all have a button-shaped image at the bottom with the Nike swoosh in place of a candidate’s name.
The idea of a Bush doll may seem innocuous to parents who would rather have their child playing with the president rather than melting plastic army men with magnifying glasses, but the doll does raise some red flags. First, consider its release, just a few days after September 11, and during Bush’s re-election campaign. It almost seems like the doll should be the first in a series, the next being Rudolph Giuliani, then Osama Bin Laden. And let’s not forget a fully interactive, collapsible World Trade Center model to boot.
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But most problematic, as ZNet commentator Cynthia Peters points out, “The President Bush action figure teaches a sort of passivity towards power.” President Bush’s illegal wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, total infringement on civil liberties, complete disregard for the environment, and his dismal performance in the domestic sphere, are all sanitized and wiped clean. Instead, we have a safe 12” Bush that we can proudly display, ignoring the thousands of lives lost in his two wars abroad and the thousands of jobs cut here at home.
Ironically, one can participate in a democracy with this doll much more than one can with the real President Bush. You want him to move his left arm? You can make him move it. You want the real Bush to divert more tax money to schools instead of using tax money to fund the war on Iraq? Tough luck.
Bush’s apologists may argue that to purchase the doll is to exercise one’s pride in one’s country, a quality all patriotic people should have. However, consider how unpopular Bush is around the world. A recent Pew poll found that Jordan, considered to be a U.S. ally, has a 99 percent disapproval rate of the U.S. How would they feel about a dumbly smiling George W. Bush doll?
Similarly, how would Americans feel about 1935 Germany boasting a Hitler action figure? Or in current times, an Ayatollah Khomeini (the vilified Iranian leader) doll? Or, God forbid, a poseable Jacques Chirac? More likely than not, Americans would grit their teeth and say such a thing would be a troubling symptom of nationalist propaganda. So why is it okay to sell the same item, only packaged in stars and stripes, in our toy stores?
Also embarking on an election campaign (no word on whether or not it’ll be competing for the Republican vote) is Nike. Like Bush, it is unclear just exactly what its platform is — we just have campaign slogans like “Unite against potholes!” and “Take back the streets!” The posters all are similar in composition — the camera angle dramatically looks up to a heroic athlete clad in Nike gear, ready to go out for a jog. Saturated in patriotic red, white and blue, the poster is also punctuated by a row of white stars running through its middle.
Are these posters a jab at anti-Nike activists? “Take back the streets” — that’s a sentiment often chanted at protests like those regarding the World Trade Organization, right? Or, is this a reminder that we do indeed vote with our dollars, in this case electing a corporation that exploits workers in countries like Indonesia and Mexico, all while marketing their products to inner-city youth whose family income can’t afford $120 sneakers that cost just a few dollars to make? Again, this points to a total passivity towards power among the general public. The herds of people waiting at their bus stops seem to be unfazed by the corporate propaganda staring at them, uncaring that democratic, pro-labor rhetoric is being co-opted by a corporation whose unethical manufacturing practices are the antithesis of the pro-labor movement. Between the Bush doll and the Nike ad campaign, we aren’t left with much choice: To re-elect a corporation, to cast our ballot for a man who is merely a puppet (literally so for the Bush doll) for Haliburton and his other oil company cronies, and cast a dollar vote for a company who exploits the underprivileged both abroad and in Chicago, the home of the Niketown flagship store. Unlike during the Bush vs. Gore election, we don’t even have the lesser of two evils to choose from.