Author George Saunders was a guest on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night. Part of their conversation revolved around a childrens book Saunders wrote and his observation we are shifting away from the values he grew up with of empathy for others toward a , “materialistic, analytical, fact based, shareholder honoring, gradual shift to the more rational side of things.” One of the characters in the book says,”it’s not at all that much fun to be the sort of person to eat a big dinner in a warm house when others shiver.”
Saunders said he had a creative overflow writing the book and wrote a song about what this character said. I’d say it reflects the attitudes and outcomes we’re seeing in much of our present politics.