Hey, Isn't That a Tomahawk?
July 3, 2005
The razor I use every morning is the Mach3 Turbo from Gillette. Admittedly, that is a random fact, but it struck me today.. what an odd name for a mass produced razor. What is communicated? First, speed.. both “mach” and “turbo” contributing on that score. Close behind is technology.. attempting to portray the razor system as an advance over previous razors. But behind those two.. entangled with them.. is the desire to connect their product to the glow of American aerospace achievement.
Emily and I unexpectedly had the opportunity to walk through the National Air and Space Museum. “Unexpectedly” because we had been aiming at the National Gallery of Art, but since it did not open until 11am on Sunday, and it was only a bit after 10am, we walked directly across the mall to a museum that was open.
The first thing I noticed in the National Air and Space Museum was the small orange jet that first broke the sound barrier.. hit mach 1. It is an airplane that connects pretty directly to my memories of youth.. to memories of The Right Stuff. And the large open room was furnished with other examples of the right stuff, including Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, the tiny pod in which the astronauts returned to the earth from the moon, and the odd craft that managed to fly around the world. These are contraptions that seem united in making an onlooker wonder how a person could possibly squeeze themselves inside, let alone stay there for a long period of time.
Down the hall is the lunar lander, with model astronauts climbing out of it, about to step on a model lunar surface.. Behind them one might notice the sign for a McDonalds. There is something about this glorious past that corporations cannot wait to sidle up to. My Gillette razor is simply one example of that fascination.
And then up above.. hey, isn’t that a Tomahawk Missile? Yes, indeed it is. Those are the winged missiles (we have seen them on TV) that shoot up awkwardly from sea ships and then, finding their bearings, head off into the sky with a purpose.. producing surgical strikes.. clean shaves.. It is not as if the military is connected to everything.. lots of exhibits in the museum feature weather reconnaissance and scientific achievement.. but it is hard not to think about the military applications. And it is undeniable the amount of public adulation that all this equipment receives.. you should see the lines that form in the afternoon!
The East Wing of the National Gallery of Art hold the collection of Contemporary Art, and in the last room I came across a work by Anselm Kiefer, a German artist.. and on the floor in the same room was a model bomber, with straw coming out of it. Kiefer is known for his work that tears at all of German history, and the nationalistic notions that led to the carnage in Europe over the past century.
It is common to note that a major difference between America and Europe is that European nationalisms, as political philosophies, were largely discredited in the aftermath of World War II, while America received a nationalistic boost. There was no reason then to question American history or actions, but plenty to lionize it. I know that I, for one, grew up with this version of the past.. and I can feel my attraction for it as I walk through the Air and Space Museum. But it is straw.. it is nothing in which we can put our faith.
