TO THE EDITOR:
In addition to David Simon’s eviscerating account of the war on the poor, he highlighted the loss of values that once unified America. Simon’s “Triumph of Capital” isn’t just “Over Labor.”
Moneyed interests have ruined our government, prisons and media. Profit has replaced all other value criteria. Simon never contends that labor should have been allowed to defeat capital. He argued that good things happened in America when tension existed between labor and capital.
America has exchanged a unifying sense “that we are all in this together” for a divisive and self-serving notion that “the next guy is not our problem.” For Simon, the next guy is our problem.
A collective desire to share the burden of helping the next guy is precisely what once made America great. Now we live in an America where socialism is a four-letter word. We think we can have “Democracy á la carte.” Simon says, get over it.
No one is obligated to embrace Simon’s perspective, but his impact should be regarded. He is a MacArthur Genius Award recipient and multiple college courses use “The Wire” to teach complex socioeconomic issues.
McAnarney failed to highlight Simon’s impact and was wrong to write, “Simon said the only way to save American society is through a renewed emphasis on labor and a stronger middle class.” Simon made it clear that he doesn’t have much hope for America. Some of us do, but it will take a lot of work.
Ginnie Hench
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Biology
