Posted on 03/07/2014 5:50:42 AM PST by Kaslin
Cadillac came out with a new commercial. And the Huffington Post hated it, so you know it’s pretty awesome. The ad is an homage to America’s tradition of hard work – and a slam against European Socialism. (Of course, it does this while selling, of all things, an electric hybrid.) Huff Po immediately elected to decry the ad… Because if the Liberal media’s penchant for business has taught us anything, it’s that earning money isn’t the “most important” thing.
Now, prepare yourself to be motivated for a few more hours at the office (and this is coming from a guy who hates electric cars almost as much as he hates Cadillac):
The First Ever 2014 Cadillac ELR: Poolside
Wow… An American car company exercising the American idea that you can earn anything you want (including a Cadillac ELR – if you’re into that sort of thing) with a little dreaming and elbow grease… Clearly this is a horrible message to send to the masses. Huff Po decided to begin their trashing critique of the ad in the following manner:
There are plenty of things to celebrate about being American, but being possessed by a blind mania for working yourself into the ground, buying more stuff, and mocking people in other countries just isn't one of them.
Let’s be honest: We really only mock the French. It might be safe to point out that no-one enjoys the prospect of 40 plus hours per week of the “daily grind”. (For those of you who are liberal, unemployed, or French, the “daily grind” refers to “work”.) But, c’mon… When did we start knocking hard work in this country? I kinda thought that was what was supposed to earn you that Rockefeller bank account. Don’t we like the guy that works his tail off to provide his kids with a backyard pool? (I guess I forgot that we live in a world that clamors for a $15 per-hour minimum wage.)
Huff Po went on to describe the American car maker’s ad as being:
a completely shameless celebration of our work-hard-buy-more culture, with a blanket dismissal of ‘other countries’ and their laziness tossed in for good measure.
Shameless? Really? I always thought that aspirations for a better life, through hard work and tireless hours, was what the American dream was all about. But the Huffington continued on:
"Why aren't you like that?" he [Neil McDonough] says. "Why aren't we like that? Because we're crazy, driven, hard-working believers, that's why." By this point, the ad has already become little more than a parody of itself, but we had to ask: believers in what? The pursuit of "stuff."
Um… Like it or not, “stuff” is kinda responsible for driving the economy. In fact, it is the economy. Even the very liberal Paul Krugman is under the impression that people buying stuff will help other people earn more money to buy stuff of their own. So what is wrong with McDonough spending his money purchasing stuff from people with other stuff for sale? Or are we all supposed to disregard the antiquated notion of hard work, and wait for government to redistribute McDonough’s stuff to people who are under-stuffed, so that they don’t have to work for their stuff? (Wow… This just turned into a [profanity laced] George Carlin sketch.) Oh, and by the way, what’s wrong with being “believers”? Did I miss a meeting with the re-writing of Americanism?
The Mad Men who pitched Cadillac their endlessly ‘merican idea made another mistake, according to the Huffington Post: They referenced the glory-days of the Space Race. (Ya know… When the Soviet model of “work less – make more” failed to win the race to the moon.)
The other reason for America's superiority, according to Cadillac? Our unrivalled space exploration program ("We're the only ones going back up [to the moon]," the ad boasts). Nevermind the fact that the U.S. government is now paying Russia $70 million a pop to shuttle NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
Alright… Valid point. Of course our beloved anti-work-liberal-rag fails to mention that our astronauts are currently hitching rides to the Russian controlled space-station because their Stuff-Redistributor-in-Chief (Obama) grounded our shuttles. “Look! We got to the moon first, and we are leading the way in space exploration! … Now can we treat Russia like some overpriced space-cabbie so we can study the impact zero-gravity has on the scent of flowers?” (Really… That was an actual study. Yes, we have fallen far from the days of Alan Shepard hitting golf balls off the face of our lunar satellite.)
Of course, the Huffington Post wasn’t quite done with their incredulous (and self-righteous) critique of Cadillac’s ode to hard work:
Now, the luxury car company is selling a vision of the American Dream at its worst: Work yourself into the ground, take as little time off as possible, and buy expensive sh*t (specifically, a 2014 Cadillac ELR).
Hey, Huff Post: How else are you supposed to afford a pool, 2.5 kids, a huge kitchen, tailored suit, and a $75,000 Cadillac? Subsidies? (I acknowledge that inheritance is an option… But, let’s face it: Hard work even earned the Kennedy’ their fortune. Although, it was earned illegally and is currently being wasted by liberal elites who disdain everything about “work”.)
See, according to the Huff Po, we’re supposed to disdain the idea of hard work and well-earned reward. Apparently, the only people worthy of pools, ELR’s, and expensive suits, are trust fund babies who land some comfy internship on the East Coast, where they learn how to spend other people’s money. Of course, I’m sure they get that Chevy Volt (a liberal-elite status symbol cleverly designed as a spontaneously combustible electric vehicle) because they have to have it. After all, what else will they brag about when they go to that cocktail fundraiser for Bill de Blasio’s most recent “progressive” cause?
Liberals aren’t infuriated with overpriced stuff. (How else do you explain Urban Outfitters?). The real problem Huffington Post has with the commercial is their glamorization of “hard work”. (Which makes sense if you are familiar with the HP's journalistic sloppiness.) Didn’t we used to live in a world that praised “hard work”? Since when did the accumulation of wealth (and *gasp* STUFF!) become a sin?
Of course, this kinda explains the tax theory behind Democrat budgets… The progressive tax is really just a “sin tax”…One commentator on the YouTube video unwittingly dismantled the Huffington Post objection with a strangely liberal comment:
I'd take more vacation any-day over a Cadillac.
Good for you, YouTube commenter… And enjoy your vacation at some un-known resort during “coupon week.” The rest of us are going to work our tails off to give our kids a better life, our family a better vacation (even if it is only two weeks), and maybe even a bit more stuff… I always thought America liked to earn luxury.
Keep up the easy work Huff Po. It suits you.
But, but....Government Motors produces Cadillac..
Awesome.
I agree, to some extent, with their decrying of the emphasis on “stuff.” There is nothing particularly conservative about conspicuous consumption or materialism.
Never have understood why they encourage Mexicans or Mongolians to express pride in their country and heritage but denounce Americans for doing so.
bump
Evan Sayet explains it, if you’re interested.
Adam Smith’s invisible hand working overtime
The Marxists are who and what they are. You cannot expect them to change.
I don’t think the message purely about getting “stuff”. It’s more indicative of our culture to innovate, strive and succeed. Those things are good for the human soul and those are among the things that make us exceptional.
It's what you replace conspicuous consumption with that really matters.
Quite right.
Liberals
Yeah, the Government Motors stigma us the driving force behind this ad.
AND I have no doubt that the “outrage” over it by Libs is pretty much contrived in a quasi-effort to triangulate the auto bailout.
Why is the HuffPo just waking up to outrage now?
Because the author missed a few deadlines since he/she is not “...possessed by a blind mania for working yourself into the ground...”. :-D
The Marxists are who and what they are. You cannot expect them to change.
************
These people are committed ideologues. There’s no reasoning with them.
Lestists love to criticize and blame. It makes them feel superior. Obama is an archetype in this regard.
So now we aren’t supposed to make fun of the French? Wow. I’ll have to ask my liberal friends.
Adam Smith was merely observing and describing
“reality as God made it”.
Look at the difference between the builders of the great tax-exempt "charitable" foundations and the people who wield them now. It was Rockefeller who sponsored Kinsey. It has been Ford and Carnegie who have wrecked the education system. The Packard Foundation, the Pews, and Ted Turner's money fund the environmental move-mint. Believe me, none of those activities are directed for anything other than profit without work; in fact, they despise it.
This is how the consequences filter back through the culture, and in some respects it is why.
"Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
A few years back, I could see Denis Leary doing that commercial.
Would have been a hoot.
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