Every morning at breakfast in the commons I always like to add to the daily tradition of the same scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, and potato products with a rich and smooth cup of decaffeinated coffee. Some might laugh at my taste in this delectable beverage because I have essentially taken out the one ingredient that makes coffee worth drinking for most people, the caffeine. The reason for this odd change is that I love the taste of coffee, but I do not want the effects of jitteriness and the eventual downward crash that caffeine brings. This is a common trend for most people.
As European Philosopher Slavoj Zizek writes in a piece for the Guardian, a reputable British newspaper, “In today’s market, we find a whole series of products deprived of their malignant property: coffee without caffeine, cream without fat, beer without alcohol. What about virtual sex as sex without sex?”
Indeed, this trend of “taking the punch” out of the product seems to spill over into our everyday lives, especially when it comes to politics and policy. This is a result of constant negotiation of congressman to appease their constituents. Starting with the stimulus package of not have enough stimulants, by this term I mean money, to actually stimulate the economy. On healthcare reform, it involved universal healthcare without a single payer system or a public option. For Afghanistan, it was the policy to withdraw troops from the country without actually withdrawing right away. Basically, the meat of these policies were cut out to replace it with a tofu like substitute that is only so filling for the consumer.
See all the stories from this week’s edition of the
Brackety-Ack.
