Tuesday, December 4, 2012

A few years ago, I shared one of my all-time favorite Onion articles with you. I thought it appropriate to trot it out again, because the central theme of the piece resonated strongly when I saw the result of my first full Kickstarter experience recently.

On its surface, the article satirizes a common Hollywood trope, where a band of scrappy kids triumphs improbably against the well-heeled. But for me, the underlying subtext is a celebration of being jaded, and such festivities seem particularly relevant, as of late. My voting experience comes to mind. Or take the latest viral sensation, for instance, of the homeless man who was given a pair of boots by an NYPD cop, only to be shoeless again a day later.

It’s that bittersweet moment when you believe, right until the very point your optimism buckles, then sunders under the weight of the authentic. You want to believe that this presidential term will be different. You want to believe a homeless fellow defies the odds and shakes off his shackles, driven by one small act of kindness. You want to believe a wallet, funded by the people and created for the people, with its “meticulously handstitch[ed] X-detail,” has the power to upend traditional retail structure. But then you look closely, and all you see is a sad, small piece of elastic with one end sewn shut, a cross between pirate treasure and a relic you might find on the locker room floor of a Jack LaLanne.