David Simon on the Decline of America

This is the second part of a three-part speech that David Simon, an Edgar Award winning journalist and the mastermind behind HBO's "The Wire", gave on the failures of American capitalism and its effects on us all.





The most striking aspect of this speech is that it takes many problems that seem to be separate (classism, media, schools, drugs) and connects them in a way that is infuriatingly comprehensible. Simon's main point is that our society exalts wealth while systematically weakening the middle and working classes, and then asks that people in poor communities say no to drugs, while they've been given nothing to say yes to. This is a strong, radical point to make, but Simon speaks with authority throughout. It's evident that he has spent countless hours on inner-city corners learning the ins/outs of the drug trade, and that he understands the mechanisms behind it. Also, Simon has a clear perspective that the ugliness of the drug trade is the same ugliness that exists in all capitalism. That he is able to take this thesis and draw a line between the corner junkie and the president is remarkable.

Oddly, the most distracting part of the speech is what also gives it the most validity. Simon makes a long detour to jokingly acknowledge that pretty much no one watches his show. What at first seems self-deprecating and childish grows to highlight Simon's belief that things won't get better. Simon posits that "our entertainment is more distracting than ever." "The Wire" is a show that in every episode deals with the pressing issues that Simon speaks on here, and no one watches it. Instead, the populace chooses to watch nationwide karaoke contests and American Gladiators. Doesn't that point to a refusal by our country to face the problem at hand? In what could be construed as a temper tantrum, Simon miraculously proves his point entirely.