Friends, Carolinians, countrypeople, lend me your ears. I have come to praise Guy Fieri, not to bury him. For too long, the metropolitan elite have critiqued Fieri as a frosted-tipped oaf. We have mocked Fieri’s quest for Flavortown™, viewing it a celebration of American Gluttonous Excess™ over Refined Culinary Palettes™.
In our current political landscape, Flavortown™ now seems much more appetizing than Trumpville. As the Left attempts to regroup, Fieri might provide a way forward that leaders in the Democratic Party have not.
Fieri has shed the liberal elitism that has plagued both food culture and Democratic politics. Regardless of whether a restaurant serves chili in a Styrofoam cup or tacos filled with crickets, Fieri, who has trained in France, will engage with a community’s favorite food. While cosmopolitan foodie culture increasingly dictates what’s trendy, Fieri holds his ear to the ground, searching out the people’s choice as opposed to Yelp reviews.
The Democratic Party this election failed to understand the public, from its need for economic reform to its virulent racism and sexism. Fieri is in the trenches, learning what the people want in his self-proclaimed role as “the ambassador to Chimichanga Flavortown™.”
Beyond understanding, Fieri engages in the redistributive politics lacking from the mainstream Democratic Party. When he goes to small town USA’s burger joint, his visit brings a flood of customers to support small business.
Both parties have played lip service to small businesses, but Fieri acts through targeted intervention and stimulus orchestrated by a centralized apparatus — in his case, the Food Network.
In these dark times, the bleached blond glow of Fieri’s hair might just be the beacon we need to guide us through Trump’s America.
