McDonaldization and the Trump Phenomenon

PRONUNCIATION:

(muhk-dah-nuhl-dai/duh-ZAY-shuhn)

MEANING:

noun:
1. Standardization that focuses on efficiency, predictability, control, etc., at the expense of individuality or creativity.
2. The spread of the influence of American culture.

I was somewhat surprised that the definition here wasn’t more pejorative.  I think of McDonald’s as a purveyor of poison, addicting people, especially children, to sugar, fat and salt, by heavily advertising an alluring alternative to real nutrition.

It’s nauseating to walk through the streets of Paris and encounter a McDonald’s.  Small wonder these people resent us the way they do.

It’s true that the American culture was the envy of the world for a long period of time, certainly since the end of the Second World War, but sadly, that’s no longer the case.  The Trump phenomenon, characterized by its lies, criminality, hatred, ignorance, insurrection, and wanna be fascism, has turned that jealousy into a blend of pity and contempt.

The tourists I ran into (before COVID) from various parts of the world used to tell me, “We simply feel sorry for you.  We never thought it could happen in America.”

Can the United States rebound?  We’ll see.