Merry Christmas: What Christmas Reindeer Antlers Say About America

Flopping Aces ^ | 12-24-24 | Vince

[Starman417]

I first wrote this in 2010 and I'm considering making it my annual Christmas post.

I republished it in 2017 as a response to a study I read:  Study: American Kids Lack Entrepreneurial Spirit.  That's like a dagger to the heart to someone who knows a bit of history and understands that the American free market has driven more prosperity and pulled more people out of poverty than any system ever in human history.  The loss of American entrepreneurial spirit for the world would be like the sun running out of hydrogen.  It won't implode immediately, but for freedom and prosperity, the end is nigh.  Well, here's my pinprick of an attempt to maybe ignite a bit of entrepreneurial spirit in someone, somewhere... and gratitude for the prosperity the American system has provided over these last 240 years... Some of the references may be dated (Like Groupon, which was a big deal back in 2010) but the point remains valid.

One last note, for the budding entrepreneur out there or the mature one, there may be no better present in the world than Harold Evan's "They Made America; From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine".  It's nothing short of brilliant.

What Christmas Reindeer Antlers Say About America

My wife is from France. In the four years we were on opposite sides of the ocean before we got married I had the good fortune to be able to visit the country a number of times. For much of that time, I was working at Outback Steakhouse and always envisioned opening a unit in Paris. (I know, for most people that’s epicurean heresy, but consider the source… my favorite food is McDonalds and M&Ms…) Nonetheless, at Outback the fundamental idea was that we would prepare your food any way you wanted. You could have your salad dressing on the side, your Bloomin’ Onion cooked with flour, or you could have your steak extra well done. Whatever it was, we wanted you to be happy with your meal. When I mentioned the idea to my wife she said it would never fly because the idea of the customer being in charge of anything in France is largely unheard of, particularly as it relates to restaurants. The rule is: that chefs are trained to know what works with food so you get what they give you and you like it.

Not long after that, I had another idea that equally befuddled her. Licensed apparel is a multi-billion dollar business in the United States and around the world – think NY Yankee hats or Manchester United shirts. One of the biggest sectors of that industry here in the US is NCAA (college) licensed apparel. One day I suggested we think about going into the licensed apparel business and selling shirts, hats, etc. for French colleges. She was puzzled. “Why would anyone want to buy a shirt with their college’s name on it?” I tried to explain the whole college rivalry, and pride in your school deal to her and it just wasn’t clicking. She told me that such a business would likely not find a market in France because there is largely no such thing as school sports & spirit and French people would never understand the point. (The University of Paris tee shirts that are sold throughout the city are for tourists.) For the French, going to college is expected to be four years of focus and study with very little extracurricular activity of any sort, organized or otherwise. Simply put, it’s all work and very little fun and who wants to wear a shirt reminding them of that?

I thought about these two episodes recently when I saw a car with some reindeer antlers sticking up out of the door of a passing car. In a moment the subject of this column came to me: The beauty of America is the fact that anything and everything is possible here. When you peel back everything else, America is a place of possibilities. Americans by their very nature are a rebellious sort. From breaking with King George to Manifest Destiny to heading to the moon, America has always been a place where big things can and do happen. More importantly, however, it’s also a place where everyday, seemingly inconsequential things can happen. What I mean by that is that it is not only the politician, the successful businessman, or the wealthy heiress who can set out to pursue some grand design… it’s also the guy next door, the guy at the coffee shop, or the guy you knew in 3rd grade who can do something that changes the world, or maybe just his little corner of it.

America is a place where people feel that if they can imagine it, they can make it come true. Although that doesn’t always lead to success, the aggregate impact of all that creativity on the country is tremendous. Think about how many things that you know of that are so fundamentally unimportant from the perspective of surviving in this world but impacted the lives of the people who invented them or used them. Silly Bandz. The Snuggie. College apparel. A dozen flavors of Coke. Personalized M&Ms. Car wrap advertising. Pet manicures. Cheesehead hats. QVC. Having it your way at Burger King. McMansions. The antlers are the perfect example. They’re utterly frivolous, but they let people express the fun side of Christmas and maybe make others smile as well. Not earth-changing but certainly a net positive, particularly for whoever created and sells them.

The list goes on and on. And this is not an exercise in navel-gazing. Just the opposite actually. It’s recognizing and appreciating the fact that America is a truly unique place and Americans are a unique people. Not because they are any better or worse than anyone else, but because they have largely bought into the notion that in America anybody can have an idea and do something with it – although regrettably, the system is increasingly suffocating the pervasiveness of that notion.

[ansel12]

A movie scene that always reminds me of how natural and free Americans used to be is seeing 1950/60s teens jumping over the closed doors into a convertible car and seeing the ones in the backseat sitting on top of where the top goes down with hair in the wind while the girlfriend in the front scoots over the bench seat to her man’s side.

We really used to own our cars and pickup trucks with the kids and dog in the bed and used them largely as we chose, laws were minimal and almost zero of them were merely about micro control and feminized limits and restraints.

[I want the USA back]

Reindeer antlers on a car tell me that the driver has a sense of humor and wants other people to have a chuckle. I doubt you will see them on a car in France or other European country. You won’t see front lawn Christmas lights and decorations other.

I prefer the American way, thank you.

[bk1000]

“Why would anyone want to buy a shirt with their college’s name on it?”

Good question. I didn’t attend much college. Most of my friends did. Every conversation will ultimately include a college anecdote, or a reference to a “fact” from a lecture given 40-some odd years ago. It is like the college years were the pinnacle of their lives and nothing has happened since. . Some still dress up for football parties. I don’t get it.

[PeterPrinciple]

I have told this story before. I was in Mongolia a few years after the demise of the Soviet Union.

They were rediscovering their past and excited about the future. In their case the past was Ghengis Kahn and Buddhism, suppressed for 80 years. Mongolia was one of the first satellite countries.

All the old rules were gone and they were free. It was like the old west. I never saw a more entrepreneurial people. All new business down the street named Ghengas Kahn that and Ghengas this.

Credit unions were started, trade.

The signs were in English as we were providing financial aid. Later on the signs were in Chinese.

80 years under communism had not killed the entrepreneurial spirit.

We are in the midst of our own demise. What heritage will we rediscover, and I am already seeing excitement in people.

Help everyway you can to get rid of the heavy central government. Don’t just sit there.

MAGA Don’t be ashamed of MAGA. Say it loud and often, explain it to others.

[philman_36]

America is a place where people feel that if they can imagine it, they can make it come true. Although that doesn’t always lead to success, the aggregate impact of all that creativity on the country is tremendous.

Just talking about your idea can lead to someone moving on it as they have the capital to do so while the creative mind is left out of the financial windfall.

Our patent system is also a disadvantage to creators. The process and financial challenges prevent many from acting upon their ideas.

USPTO fee schedule

Sometimes it is upwards of $20,000 to get a patent, and that may only get you a temporary one. Someone else can swoop in when that one expires and then profit from it.

I'll keep my ideas to myself rather than get ripped off by lawyers, charlatans or thieves, including those in the government.

[sauropod]

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[oldtech]

Well,I would have to disagree with some of that. When I was still working, I was in a position where an inventive frame of mind could be a good thing...IF you could sell the invention, Or the idea behind it. Neither seemed to work out because apparently if you were trying to sell the idea to a company that could produce it, there were 2 problems. One was the notion that it’s only a good idea if it comes from within the company who would usually end up getting it for free. The other was that unless your invention was patented, they would still end up getting it for free. Patenting an idea or a product is not free. So if you had no money to invent, you might as well forget it. Now retired I have more money than I ever had while working, but do not have the atmosphere that inspires invention nor the ability/facilty to build something on my own. Nor the physical ability if such is required. So I have long since forgot about the whole thing when I now understand how it all works for most of us.