Steve McQueen is somewhat of a myth. A legend that people are pretty sure once was true but has since eroded to fiction or, worse, irrelevance. At the relatively young age of 50, Steve McQueen quietly died in Mexico in 1980—about a month before fellow counter-culture icon John Lennon was killed. Nowadays, film audiences can only grasp at the name they think they once heard their fathers talk about. Well, that, a creepy 2005 Mustang commercial and an annoying Sheryl Crow song. With the late-actor’s birthday coming up, I want to do more than commemorate under-rated classics and bash over-rated classics. I need to articulate how a new Steve McQueen could not save us from ourselves, but rather the entire nation needs to become 300 million Steve McQueens—okay, maybe half can be “Stephanie” McQueen. I don’t give a damn, the point is this: Steve McQueen solves our biggest national problems.
This isn’t about social issues, gun laws, corporate finance or how the American primary system should be structured on a rotating, 10-week calendar (obviously!). This is about America. Nearly 250 years ago, the United States became the largest ideological experiment the world has ever seen. We became a nation founded by ideals, not bloodlines. A nation inherently adaptable, amendable and responsive to humanity itself.
We experimented with democracy and with the different tools and nuances such a government necessitates. As expected, democracy took some blows during any war, but held true enough. And more surprisingly, democracy clung to the threads of legitimacy through the media age, and for that, the Founding Fathers can be appreciated. But now it’s over. Consumer culture, from the light bulb to the Internet, has run the gamut on possible fears and we’ve become too educated and lazy to fall for the fabrication of old classics (anarchists, Russians, etc.). Now let’s re-imagine the world. Re-imagine the future we need, if not the future we deserve.
Discipline:
Steve McQueen was a former Marine and for the rest of his life spent two hours a day, every day, exercising. Not palates, yoga or mediation-style exercising, but full-on weight lifting and running several miles. Also, he was a heavy smoker. He didn’t need a trainer, he just went around lifting heavy things and running to the next heavy thing, stopping only to light his cigarette with the smoldering stub of his previous cigarette.
I’m not saying all Americans need to exercise more, or smoke more cigarettes, but we need to embrace a sense of duty and sacrifice if we want to count ourselves among the patriotic. This means public office (Congress, President, etc.) needs to be a tour of duty, potentially required of everyone. One tour of public duty, four years. Like jury duty, everybody’s responsible for the outcome then. People couldn’t campaign for themselves because of the lottery system, nor would critics castigate those in power knowing 1) the position wasn’t by choice and 2) the replacement could be at a lot worse.
Courage:
Steve McQueen had to go to Mexico for his cancer treatment because the FDA is a bunch of sissies who thought Mexican cancer treatments would kill McQueen. As is, McQueen died but nobody on either side of the border was really helping him so at least he experimented with every option.
We need to embrace this kind of courage to think outside the borders. To test the unknown even at a personal risk. Not just eat at that new “Indian restaurant” but actually consider the practices, policies and politics of other nations.
Sense of Humor:
When Bruce Lee bragged that he was becoming a bigger name than any American movie star, Steve McQueen sent him an autographed photo signed: “To Bruce, my biggest fan.”
We win by having fun. Nobody is jealous of a terrified, angry America. We become the best by living the most, not living the longest.
Modern Practicality:
McQueen once said, “When a horse learns to buy martinis, I'll learn to like horses.” Though he starred in “The Magnificent Seven,” “Tom Horn” and other Westerns, McQueen didn’t give a fart about tradition. He didn’t need a horse and didn’t want a horse. Instead, McQueen garnered over 200 motorcycles.
Nostalgia just isn't what it used to be. We need more motorcycles.
Animal Rights:
Like most bad ass men, Steve McQueen had a soft spot for dogs.
As a country, this means we should ban cats as pets so more people might get dogs. The increase in dog-ownership would make people happier and we would reduce the amount of homeless dogs in this country. But Nick, some counter, wouldn’t there been even more stray cats then? Absolutely not. Cats would become part of the wild; we don’t talk about stray raccoons. Plus, less cats eating fancy cat food means more cats eating more mice and that ain’t too bad either.
Patriotism:
Steve McQueen was one of the highest paid actors in the world by 1970. His tax rate was about twice that of modern millionaires.
Saluting the troops, worshiping the Founding Fathers and wearing a flag pin are the easy ways out of supporting the country. Silently, even proudly, inconveniencing ourselves for the sake of our neighbor is far more noble.
Proper Power Abuse:
On film sets, McQueen was notoriously difficult to work with, often instigating petty rivalries. From his trailer, he would also demand absurd things like dozens of electric razors, bottles of shampoo, pairs of jeans and numerous other “necessities.” He would then give all the free crap to boys in under-funded juvenile halls. Despite his unusual accommodations, the movie studios still made money.
We need to find similar ways to directly help people, and preferably over the Internet so that people can read this blog, watch YouTube videos and help save their fellow man. Forget raising money. Connect suppliers directly to those who need supplies.
Embracing an Expertise:
Steve McQueen designed and patented a race car seat, as he frequently found himself in dangerously normal cars for his many action films. Before that, the man was actually a professional race car driver.
What would you do to help the world if given millions of dollars and a few years? Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s something you care about and something you know about. People like feeling like experts and experts should be allowed to work in their chosen realms, if not for their expertise, at least for their passion. Specifically, we need to allow long-term repayment options on all our investments.
Humility:
Unable to emote on-screen, or much at all in real life, Steve McQueen turned down the starring role in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Director Steven Spielberg suggested cutting the most emotional scenes out of his future-classic, but McQueen turned him down flat, again. McQueen knew those scenes made the movie and he wasn’t the right man for the job.
If public officials, drafted into public service, knew that nobody expects them to be experts in every field, we can stop with the factory tour photo-ops and let them differ to others’ opinions. And if public officials didn't spend twenty years of their life trying to get to the highest offices, then they wouldn’t be so immovable once there and more compromise could be brokered.
Steve McQueen wasn’t a phenomenal actor, or really even much of a good one; nor was the man perfect or even routinely sober. But, boy, wouldn’t something new be fun? And wouldn’t it be appropriate if we could create a new, more total form of democracy by embracing the spirit of a man once known as “The King of Cool.”
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