Jonathan Merritt on American Culture

I see fewer luxury cars in Vancouver, Washington, than I did in San Carlos, California. This difference probably has less to do with cultural differences between the Pacific Northwest and the Bay Area and more to do with income differences. (The median income in Vancouver is about $49,000; the median income in San Carlos is about $111,000.) American culture is characterized in part by greed, and the subculture of the Pacific Northwest--whatever its distinctive characteristics--is not immune to this vice.

In an exceptional (even prophetic) piece, Jonathan Merritt takes on the -isms of consumerism and materialism (as well as a third, workaholism). Specifically, he impugns the messaging of a new Cadillac commercial. The article can be read here.