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McAvoy Layne will portray Mark Twain Aug. 11 at the amphitheater.
Two respected authors dined together one evening in Hartford back in 1872. Over dinner they complained about the moral fiber of the economy. Their wives cajoled them and challenged them to collaborate on a novel to address the issue. The men accepted the challenge, rolled up their sleeves and went to writing.
Their collaboration painted our American landscape as something other than it appeared. It was gilded. American capitalism was being driven by greed. The book was "The Gilded Age," and the authors were Charles Dudley Warner and Mark Twain.
Together, Warner and Twain crafted America's first political satire, a satire long overdue and well received. We have their wives to thank for this contribution to our culture.
Their collaboration painted our American landscape as something other than it appeared. It was gilded. American capitalism was being driven by greed. The book was "The Gilded Age," and the authors were Charles Dudley Warner and Mark Twain.
Together, Warner and Twain crafted America's first political satire, a satire long overdue and well received. We have their wives to thank for this contribution to our culture.
That period of inflated political and business graft is referred to today as "The Gilded Age," and it is posited by many modern pundits that we are now entering a second, "Gilded Age," complete with our own perverse pornography of the dollar.
The dollar is our god - how to get it our religion. "Get money. Get it quickly. Get it in abundance. Get it in prodigious abundance. Get it dishonestly if you can, honestly if you must."
Some people are born hoggish toward money. By backdating stock options, some CEOs are able to jump from freefalling companies in golden parachutes, an act that would embarrass anybody with a single moral fiber in their body.
Global Crossing Chairman Gary Winnick, once tabbed by Fortune magazine as, "The Emperor of Greed," cashed in $735 million in stock over four years while driving the company into bankruptcy, and he's but the tip of the iceberg.
The dollar is our god - how to get it our religion. "Get money. Get it quickly. Get it in abundance. Get it in prodigious abundance. Get it dishonestly if you can, honestly if you must."
Some people are born hoggish toward money. By backdating stock options, some CEOs are able to jump from freefalling companies in golden parachutes, an act that would embarrass anybody with a single moral fiber in their body.
Global Crossing Chairman Gary Winnick, once tabbed by Fortune magazine as, "The Emperor of Greed," cashed in $735 million in stock over four years while driving the company into bankruptcy, and he's but the tip of the iceberg.
On the flip side of the coin, the federal minimum wage will go to $6.55 an hour on July 24. That means the minimum wage earner will work 37 minutes to buy a four dollar gallon of gas, which might take him 20 miles home, if he's lucky. So what's a poor working stiff to do? A 20-mile commute is a long slog on a Wal-Mart bicycle.
The noxious atmosphere of greed that corporate America is breathing today is symptomatic of a larger social malaise. "The Gilded Age Part Two" is upon us and will spawn a class war to wither what we saw during the 1870s unless we make prudent adjustments to a sadly skewed economy.
A recent major study conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project revealed that only eight countries in this world have a favorable opinion of the United States. Our standing in world opinion has been in decline since our invasion of Iraq, and remains stalled at an all-time low.
We are blamed by most of civilization for the weak global economy and global warming. Be that right or wrong, the world is counting on America to make major changes come January 20 of next year.
The noxious atmosphere of greed that corporate America is breathing today is symptomatic of a larger social malaise. "The Gilded Age Part Two" is upon us and will spawn a class war to wither what we saw during the 1870s unless we make prudent adjustments to a sadly skewed economy.
A recent major study conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project revealed that only eight countries in this world have a favorable opinion of the United States. Our standing in world opinion has been in decline since our invasion of Iraq, and remains stalled at an all-time low.
We are blamed by most of civilization for the weak global economy and global warming. Be that right or wrong, the world is counting on America to make major changes come January 20 of next year.
Meanwhile, Charles Dudley Warner, Mark Twain and their wives must be looking down from above the clouds with raised eyebrows, and hearts bursting with hope and great expectations.
I can hear Sam now, "I realized money was the source of all evil, and I wanted as much of it as I could get."
McAvoy Layne is an Incline Village resident who visits area schools as the ghost of Mark Twain.
I can hear Sam now, "I realized money was the source of all evil, and I wanted as much of it as I could get."
McAvoy Layne is an Incline Village resident who visits area schools as the ghost of Mark Twain.
