Brett Berk

The Gay Uncle loves peanut butter. And he hasn’t stopped eating it, just like he didn’t give up on spinach during the E-Coli threat a few years ago. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t think that what’s going on in the PB world isn’t problematic. Oh, he thinks it is. But he believes the problem goes much deeper than a few rogue plant owners trying to make an extra buck by using sub-standard products, underpaid workers, and non-existent sanitation procedures. He even thinks it goes deeper than critiquing the vulgar race-to-the-bottom, hands-off policies that our government has been implementing for the past thirty years (and which sped up horribly during the W.A.E.–Worst Administration Ever–that just left office.) So what is the peanut problem about, according to Gunc? He thinks it’s about abdication of the contract that is supposed to bind us together as a society. We are not supposed to believe we’re each all in this on our own, or out for our own–this creates a bunker mentality and seals us off from one another. Rather, we should be formulating decisions, policies, and actions based on the understanding that we need to work together in order to regulate the base tendencies of humans (to do evil) and create a society that collectively protects itself and its own. This is about sacrificing a bit of your own–at times–to create a safety net from which everyone benefits (even you!) Think about that next time you make a sandwich!