If you were watching any news outlet or paying attention to world events over our thanksgiving break you probably noticed something shocking. The beloved company Hostess, that has always provided sweet treats for everyone in America went out of business, and with it came the death of the “Golden Sponge Cake With Creamy Filling”. The Twinkie of course has been an American icon since the 30’s and now poof, they are gone. The question of course has to come next: Who killed the Twinkie? This question kept me up at night, as I was going to local supermarkets to build up my supply of Twinkies, which, if I stay on course, will last me the next 4 winters. I set out on my investigation to find the “murderer” and what I found was America’s usual reaction to this kind of things.
What do I mean by this? Well, if you looked to the right wing conservatives, the blame was put on the greedy unions, striking and holding on to a $10 an hour wage with benefits. Or if you looked to the left wing liberals, the blame was put on the managers who allegedly took up to 300% in raises, or to the owners, the American private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings, who piled on $700 million in debt when they bought the company. Now I felt myself agreeing with both groups. The libertarian in me started berating the unions. It went a little something like: “Unbelievable! This goes to show that unions have no place in modern America; always looking for an extra buck aren’t they. Its simple economics, a business cannot exist with absurd wages and workers who want too much. The free market is always in the right!” Then the occupy wall street within me berated this Ayn Rand version of myself. It went something like: “It’s the greedy business owners who killed the Twinkie you dunce. It goes to show that the competitive capitalist dogma works to destroy the working class, while the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. The unions were in the right!” This is the normal American reaction. People tote party lines, and blame those who are deemed as wrong or ignorant of reality.
The fact of the matter is, however, the Twinkie is no longer here, and that should raise some alarms. The death of the Twinkie sheds light on the major flaw of modern America. This flaw is that democrats and republicans do not work together. The ideologies held by these groups are concrete, with no room for compromise, and the two groups always feel the other side is wrong no matter what the circumstances. This will be the undoing of America. The need for compromise is at an all-time high if America wishes to remain the superpower it thinks it is. This is apparent in the approaching fiscal cliff. The problem can only be overcome once both parties realize the fact that we are not a blue or red America, but rather one nation. And only when we realize this, can we become the America that everybody wants it to be, a shining light of hope and goodness in a darkening world. Perhaps someday we can all share a twinkie and laugh about the problems we once had as a divided nation, and share in the joy of one nation under hostess, indivisible, with ding-dongs and twinkies for all. When that day comes, the cupcakes are on me.