Q2 Blog 3 Fast Food, Preservatives, and Happiness - 11/19/25
When I think of America, like proper white America (not our ethnically, culturally, racially diverse bay area) there are 4 things that come to mind: pickup trucks, guns, a dysfunction government, and fast food. Yes you read that right!
Fast food.
Probably one of the greatest inventions by an American. DO NOT get fast food and street food mixed up, just because they both get made quickly does not mean they are the same thing. Fast food is fast food! (I’m very sensitive and passionate about my food, I'm sorry).
Anyway.
Where does fast food come from, the one and only, McDonalds! Back in April of 1955, Dick and Maurice McDonald opened up the very first of what would become the world's most popular fast food restaurant.
They had a vision.
Revolutionized the way restaurants operated, 30 second wait times, no utensils, no clean up and cheap fresh food that was approved by everyone's taste buds.
They truly exemplified the idea of beauty in simplicity. I think that speaks to a lot more of America and the American identity that people may think.
Back then, I can’t speak so much about today, but back then from the 50s to almost the mid 2010s people desired a simple life. They wanted an easy 30 second order to counter experience. College wasn’t this club of exclusivity, government and politics worked, elected officials listened to their constituents, and everyone was healthier.
Look at us now.
Facing the highest teen suicide rates because of college admissions and academic stress, the fall of the Democratic Party because of the lack of leadership and party unity, our President who refuses to acknowledge climate change while appointing people such as Kash Patel and Pam Bondi to positions they are neither qualified nor experienced enough for.
What have we come to as a country, can we go back to the simplicity that was offered with an order of a Cheeseburger, fries and Coco-Cola?
Hi Ranvir! When you said you were “sensitive and passionate” about your food, I said “I know” out loud. To anyone other than Ranvir reading this comment, I promise I’m not being mean; Ranvir just posts an absurd amount about food. Anyways, did you by chance watch the McDonald’s founder biopic. If not, I highly recommend it. I agree with the fact that America has in a way fled from the idealization of a “simple life.” However, I am sure as individuals, especially us as high school juniors, wish for some of that simplicity.
ReplyDeleteThis abandonment of simplicity that you mention is highlighted with fast food chains especially. McDonald’s can’t truthfully say they offer “fresh food” since everything is loaded with preservatives. Now “fresh food” has become an attractive marketing phrase rather than a given expectation. Although some fast food restaurants still keep the quality of food in mind, like In-N-Out, which is why Dad loves it so much. I don’t quite agree with how you said back then “college wasn’t this club of exclusivity.” If anything I think that statement is more true now, since college acceptance is more so based on merit than an individual’s circumstances (like family income, which is certainly not a benefit to everyone).
An intriguing topic this week, for sure! I’ve seen this kind of “back in my day” nostalgia before from people whose day it actually was, but it’s always interesting to hear it from someone my age. I always think; “did they absorb his way of thinking from an adult in their life, while listening to memories recounted as seen through rose-colored glasses?” But the thing is, I am also guilty of this particular sort of reminiscing about a time before I was born when everyone had everything figured out and the world wasn’t falling apart. But the bitter truth of the matter is that things have always been like this: there may have been less news coverage, less data, less understanding and overall awareness, but there were still politicians who didn’t know what they were doing and people who struggled with the systems in place. Sometimes I do wish it was as simple as going back to 15-cent cheeseburgers.
ReplyDeleteI do like that you write so informally as it is a breath of fresh air from all of the academic and polished writing I read on a daily basis, but some things (like the misspelling of “Coca-Cola,” for instance) should have probably been fixed somewhere in the revision process. Other than that, though, great job!
Hello, Ranvir! When you described America as 4 things, you pretty much summed it up (aside from the bald eagle RAAAH)! Those four things come to mind whenever I think of America, too!
ReplyDeleteWhile I love how you described the “good days” of America, I feel the need to address your question as to why we can’t go back to those good days from now on. I think it can be summed up into the simple fact that America is not the greatest country in the world now, and that it brought this on itself over the years that it was prosperous. Our superiority in our own selves, the belief that we needed to seek success for only ourselves, has changed America for the worse. Dick and Maurice may represent the “good” of America, but what we truly know as McDonalds was created by Ray Kroc, who ruthlessly kicked the brothers out of their own business for “his” company to grow. Our global relationships, our belief that America still needs to remain the “big brother” of the world, has exposed us to what the rest of the world is like. Not all of the rest of the world has 8-lane highways smoothly paved, or brilliant lights shining around us, and as time passes, people in less-fortunate countries want to advance, too. So we as Americans are now prey to our own fears that the rest of the world will overtake us, that they do not want our protection anymore, and the American empire that existed in the 1950s will fall.