Life I&Li-bertv

Individualism of the next nine songs, to reject the the redwood forests. With utter lack of depredations and militarism that discolor self-consciousness, he sings, With a Beat our recent history, while gloriously re- affirming the beauty of the Founders’ vi- I am a patriot And I love my country.* By William Kauffman sion of a free and peaceful America. “I want justice,” screams Van Zandt in the Van Zandt ends this wondrous song ow that the dust has settled on second song, and his gut-vvrenching with a statement of principles fitting for N1984, we can take stock. Friends of delivery makes us believe his vow to “be an album that features sketches of liberty might be tempted to write off the here fighting till the day I die.” Thomas Jefferson and the Statue of year behind us as a 366-day stroll further Next come a pair of anticommunist Liberty on its back cover: down the road to serfdom. Actually, numbers unlikely to pop up on Pete though, the spirit of American individu- Seeger’s play list, the bouncy “Solidar- And I ain’t no communist alism was alive and well in those twin ity” and the elegiac “Checkpoint And I ain’t no capitalist And I ain’t no socialist temples of youth, the movie theater and Charlie.” The latter, bemoaning not only And I sure ain’t no imperialist the concert hall. the cursed Berlin Wall but also Western And I ain’t no Democrat Hollywood, long excoriated by the indifference to it, is a stunner. Agoniz- And I ain’t no Republican either political right as eager propagandists for And I only know one party left-liberal causes, gave us Ghostbusters And its name is freedom and Splash, a pair of wildly successful I am a patriot * teen comedies with anti-government sub- Voice of America closes with themes; as well as Red Dawn, John “Undefeated,” a rousing ode to isola- , Milius’s interesting paean to anti-Soviet tionism that could get the Old Right of guerrilla warfare. the 1940s up and dancing: Rock ’n’ roll was no less fecund. Punk rock, or what’s left of it, remained a com- Ain’t no peace with honor baby No matter what you hear bustible admixture of anarchism and Ain’t no peace with honor baby suburban restlessness, ignited by Until we disappear.* militantly anti-authority bands like TSOL (True Sounds of Liberty) and Husker Du. ingly slow, dirge-like, “Checkpoint ruce Springsteen, Van Zandt’s best Even heavy metal produced raucous Charlie” is at once a stark indictment of Ruddy, has fashioned his own screw-you anthems like Twisted Sister’s the free world- celebration of the land of Jefferson on the “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and Sammy album Born in the USA Less overtly Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55.” Why do we let it happen political, Springsteen explores the But the year’s most fascinating devel- Or is it that we don’t mind parlous state of individuals in a nation opment in popular culture was the Somebody bein’ punished for their fathers’ crimes* whose government seems to have forgot- release of new albums by mainstream ten just why it was instituted in the first rockers (and best friends) Bruce Spring- -and an expression of hope in a situation place. steen and Little Steven Van Zandt. As universally acknowledged to be hope- Born in the USA marks the ninth an- suggested by the albums’ titles-Born in less. niversary of the release of Born to Run, the USA and Voice of America, respec- Side one closes with “Out of the Dark- the album that established Springsteen tively-they are the work of two deeply ness,” a ringing tribute to the redemp- as the new (fill in the patriotic men trying to reconcile an in- tive power of love in a dangerous world, name of your favorite tough-tender punk effable love of the homeland and its and before you can ask, “What ever hap- poet). What a difference a decade makes. bountiful promise with the often discour- pened to Joan Baez?” Van Zandt is at it Born to Run glorified the greasy street aging realities of life in the land of the again on side two, paying homage to the tough with a heart of gold and offered a free. Much like many of REASON’S peasant victims of Latin American death vision of the vibrant, cacophonous, readers, I would guess. squads in “Los Desaparecidos.” Two violent, neon lit backstreets of the inner Voice of America is the most explicitly lesser songs follow, the ambitious city as the promised land. A car and a political album in memory. Van Zandt “Fear” and the sanguine “Among the guitar were the keys to the kingdom. stakes out his territory early. Side one Believers. ” Springsteen’s characters on Born in the opens with the anthemic title cut, a Sandwiched between is the crown USA (as well as last year’s haunting lamentation of lost national virtue: jewel of this remarkable album, the sim- Nebraska) have deserted his asphalt play- ple reggae song “I Am a Patriot.” No, grounds and, like Huck Finn and Sal We knew right from wrong once upon a that’s not a typo. Van Zandt gave us, in a Paradise before them, seek liberation in time Everything we stood for has been com- year wh’ose political boundaries were the untamed South and West. Indeed, in promised.* demarcated by the bombastic national- his most unrestrained, exuberant ism of the self-proclaimed America’s moments (“Darlington County,” “Work- The song ends with Van Zandt recaptur- Party on the right and the Rev. Jesse ing on the Highway”), Springsteen ing the flag and defiantly asserting, Jackson’s odious Third World socialism reminds one of the late, great individual- “We’re the Voice of America.” on the left, the most authentically ist novelist Jack Kerouac. That voice proceeds, over the course patriotic song since Woody Guthrie saw But unlike Kerouac, Springsteen em-

*Reprinted by permi\won Copyright D lY84 by Blue 52 REASON/MARCH 1985 Midnight hluw adminiqtered by Rug Muwc LIFE & LIBERTY

phasizes the life-giving functions of thor- media. In short, they know how to cater oughly middle-class values like hard to the real biases that operate in the work and family ties. Deprived of these media: biases on television in favor of the moorings, either by chance (“Down- kinetic (that is, action) over the static bound Train”) or by the government (that is, intelligent analysis); biases in (“Born in the USA”), a person is doomed large urban dailies and on television and to an aimless, peripatetic existence. radio in favor of minorities that are suffi- Freedom, in Springsteen’s hands, no ciently affirmative-actionable; and biases longer means the absence of responsibil- floating through the hinterland, in print ity. On the contrary, the characters on and broadcast media alike, in favor of Born in the USA want nothing more than regimentation in social behavior and the opportunity to settle down, assume restrictions on individual liberties. their responsibilities, and live their lives I began my own broadcast media free from interference. All too often, career explicitly informed (by a friendly though, the pursuit of happiness is inter- mole at the nation’s most prestigious rupted, whether by conscription or the “public” TV station, WGBH) that I had Pulls out lor easy selection 30 day money back guarantee j cops. been taken on in order to fend off Spiro . 42 bars lor ties belts 8 other .uses less than 4 01 closet space Critics in the cultural vanguard have Agnew-that is, to “prove” that WGBH- accessories for men and women . FIIS any closet rod ouallty. prec~smconstruction attacked Springsteen for adhering to TV wasn’t liberally biased, by parading a such arrantly old-fashioned notions, conservative in front of the camera. This Please send me __Extendable Tie and Belt Rack@) at $i4 95 (plus $2 50 shipping and handling) each Enclosed some even sniffing that it’s redolent of experience confirmed my belief that is my check for $ or charge card number there is room in the regulated media for the American Dream nonsense. Get mar- Name ried, work hard, be loyal to your friends all types, and even room in the unregu- OPabe0””l and family, maybe raise a little hell Sat- lated print medium for many types. Address urday night at the union hall or the local But it is liberals who have had the most CltY State - Zip ___ pub-not exactly the stuff dreams are success in using the media before the Account No made of? Let Springsteen speak for media used them. Communists and 0 VISA 0 MASTERCARD himself in the peroration of “No Sur- avowed militant socialists are a bit dicey Exp Date XTENDABLES~ Signature render”: even for the contemporary American P 0 Box 3296 Tallahassee, Florida32315 media. Conservatives often seem too TOLL FREE 1-800-821-5226 (X402R) I want to sleep beneath peaceful skies In my lover’s bed stuffy and tongue-tied. Libertarians and With a wide open country in my eyes others insufficiently easy to categorize And these romantic dreams in my head t by people who know only conservative Too Much Mail Isn’t that what the USA is all about? and liberal, seem, well, too odd. Only Can Be liberals are fully comprehended by the Irritating.. . William Kauffman is a graduate student in media in an America that has been more political science at the University of Rochester. molded by what is today called liberalism than by any other “ism.” On the Other Hand, Getting a wider range of opinion Some People Love It! F and a more-informative range of facts Whichever way you feel, you How to Use the across the airwaves to American TV can help us accommodate you. R€ASON makes its list of sub- Media Before the and radio audiences would be worth- scribers available to selected while for that audience and gratifying for organizations whose products, Media Use You services, or activities might be those who have felt excluded from access of interest to you. We do a lot to those media. A liberal bias does of direct mailings ourselves, and we believe in the legiti- By David Brudnoy prevail, but, from an insider’s stand- macy and importance of such point, there are ways to get other view- marketing efforts. E he media are biased.” Since I But if you wish to have your points heard or seen. name restricted from such use, Thave forged my career in broad- The most important consideration is please fill in the information casting, it’s an accusation I frequently the nature of the broadcast media bias: it below EXACTLY AS IT AP- PEARS ON YOUR MAIL- encounter. And the criticism is war- is not primarily political. Instead, it is a ING LABEL on the cover of ranted. Not all media outlets, print or bias in favor of action, hubbub, noise REASON. Or attach the mail- ing label itself to.the coupon broadcast, are biased, nor biased in the controversy, and familiarity in ideas. and return it to: same way. But what passes for “objec- Kinetic excitement coupled with familiar P.O. Box 27977 tivity” is often just a veneer-a thin layer slogans and premises warm the hearts of San Diepo, CA 92128 fl: of good-looking deception spread over those who decide what does and what Attn: M;i/ing Lists something else entirely. does not get air time. There’s no point in 0 Pleare remove my name The media are not biased, however, in offering ideas at a soporific press con- from your mailing list. the overtly political sense that most of its ference, when across the street a critics imagine. My own experience has “welfare rights” organization is convinced me that if the media show a demonstrating on behalf of another hand- bias in favor of, for example, liberalism, out. ADDRESS many conservatives insist, it is as Energetic is better than static. A CITY STATE ZIP because liberals know how to use the (Continued on page 64)

tRcprinted by pcrniission. Words and niusic by Ihce Springateen. Copyright @ 1984. MARCH1985 IREASON53 The Book Case

many other participants in the industrial in most countries, notably Great Britain, The Entrepreneurial policy debate, Gevirtz does not interpret France, and Germany, has become in- Solution this decline as evidence of the need for creasingly dominated by a fixed in- government planning. Instead, he points dustrial aristocracy, in America, the in- out that “those Americans working in dividual entrepreneur has continued to Business Plan for America: smaller-scale businesses with fewer than challenge the well-heeled, firmly en- An Entrepreneur’s Manifesto 250 employees climbed to nearly 70 per- trenched economic hegemony.” Since . By Donald Gevirtz cent of the total work force.” 1980, including the deep and paralyzing New York: Putnam ’s The plain truth, as Gevirtz’s book 1982 recession, the United States has 199 pp. $1 5.95 makes abundantly clear, is that without witnessed the formation of 2.4 million the stunning revival of the small-business new businesses (using statistics through Reviewed by Warren Brookes entrepreneur, this country would still be July of 1984). This is 25 percent more in the double-digit unemployrnent dol- than even the extraordinary 1977-80 easoned individualists understand drums that have trapped Canada, the period and is the primary reason why we Sthat there is as great a danger to United Kingdom, and most ad Europe. have seen nearly 7 million new jobs freedom and individuality, and therefore This revival actually began with the created during the current recovery. economic dynamism, from Corporate famous Steiger Amendment in 1978 that In fact, right through the 1980 and America as from Big Government. More -- 1982 recessions, the Small Business Ad- often than not, it is Corporate America ministration found that companies with that has encouraged the expansion of less than 20 employees enjoyed a 9 per- government and the regulation of com- America’s cent growth in employment and com- merce-to its own advantage, but to the panies with less than 500 employees a 4 stagnation of innovative growth. The high-tech percent growth, while companies with corporate income-tax system has quite more than 500 employees suffered a literally been designed by corporate lob- boom nearly 2 percent employment drop. byists. Not surprisingly, it promotes con- glomeration and punishes the entrepre- has been fed 11 of which is to say, as Gervitz does neurial spirit of small business. Aso well, that the strength of the This is why Donald Gevirtz’s book, almost entirelj American economy today is more than Business Plan for America, is such a ever the result of our traditional en- welcome contribution to the economic by the trepreneurial spirit. Like supply-side debate now raging in America. It economics, which focuses on the rela- reminds us that the vitality of our individual tionship between policy and individual economic system is rooted in individual incentives, this focus on the entrepre- freedom. At the same time, it reminds us entrepreneur. neur is a refutation of the “macroeco- that corporate giantism is on the same nomic” view that has dominated the deadly road to Leviathan as the socialist American “liberal” left for so long. planners, who love the corporation’s cut capital-gains tax rates from a high of Gevirtz reminds us in Business Plan for socializing potential. 49 percent to 28 percent and was re- America that the original economic dino- As William Schambra noted at the inforced by the Reagan tax cuts of 1981. saur, John Kenneth Galbraith, wrote in American Enterprise Institute’s Decem- Perhaps this focus on small bu.,’-messes 1952: “There is no more pleasant fiction ber 1983 annual policy conference, “The is not surprising coming from an individ- than that technical change is the product tremendous new corporations created by ual who, as chairman of a commercial of the matchless ingenuity of the small the combination of modern technology finance company, has helped capitalize man forced to employ his wits to better and scientific management held out great over 15,000 small and medium-sized his neighbor. Most of the cheap and sim- promise in the minds of many ‘New Na- companies. But Gevirtz’s approval of tax ple inventions have, to put it bluntly, tionalist’ progressives. Walter Lippmann cuts and distaste for industrial planning already been made. . . .A benign Provi- argued that the new corporation was the is at least curious given his long-time dence has made the industry of a few ‘welcome beginning of a collectivist close association with the Democratic large firms an almost perfect instrument organization’ holding out the ‘possibility Party. He was one of only two members for technical change.” Another New of cooperation’ in place of the ‘wasteful,. of a high-level Democratic Party commit- Deal statist, David Lilienthal, warned planless scramble of little profiteers.’ ” tee to oppose a 1984 recommendation that “as a nation we cannot live in the Yet without that “wasteful, planless that the federal government create a world of economic folk dancing and scramble” Donald Gevirtz wouldn’t have fund to help depressed industries. basket weaving and simultaneously in a story to tell, and the American econ- Standing fast against a so-called in- the world of the big productive omy would have created virtually no new dustrial policy for America, Gevirtz machine.. . .S~izeis our greatest single jobs over the last 15 years, instead of the urges instead that the country’s entre- asset. ” nearly 27 million it has created. Indeed, preneurial spirit be encouraged to As Gevirtz points out, these economic as Gevirtz points out, the Fortune 500 flourish through less, not more, govern- neanderthals were quite content to ig- companies actually lost nearly 2 million ment economic planning. To supplort his nore warnings both from their right and jobs between 1970 and 1983. Unlike so case, Gevirtz notes that while “capitalism from their left. On the right, economist

54 REASON/MARCH 1985