# Posted 9:39 AM by Anonymous  

FOR A TIME AFTER September 11, a rugged patriotism seemed poised to strangle American materialism. President Bush suggested we had abandoned our “soft” ways. The terrorists “thought we were weak and materialistic,” he said. “Instead, they have found a patient, determined, compassionate nation that stands in the way of their efforts to spread evil.” Americans had discovered higher purpose. As if to signal the triumph of mind over matter, retailers emblazoned products with pledges to channel proceeds to charity. Keds launched AmeriKeds shoes to support the Red Cross; Steve Madden spun out the Bravest – a $50 sneaker bearing an American flag made of imitation rhinestones – to raise money for the families of firefighters slain in the attacks; Sony released its best-selling tribute album, whose cover pledged a donation to the Twin Towers Fund. But reports of the death of profiteering have been greatly exaggerated. Many charities went months without earning a dime from their retail tie-ins, and several corporations, like Sony, did not even bother to consult the charities whose names they applied to merchandise. Steve Madden racked up a whopping $515,783 profit from the Bravest, while the other Bravest – those 343 departed firefighters – remained untouched by his bounty. But some vendors do not even feign charity: for them patriotism is not a calling above the clamor of the mall; it’s an excuse to shop. Guess jeans is selling American flag hinge bracelets and sport tank-tops, dog-tag necklaces and star-studded earring sets in patriotic tricolor. Topps, the baseball-card maker, has launched Enduring Freedom: a 90-card pack that, in addition to the president and vice president, includes cards for such childhood heroes as Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. New York Cargo markets its $70 flag-adorned bomber jacket as an “absolute must in this time of crisis for our country. The USA Flag jacket is all you need to promote the fact that the USA is truely (sic!) the greatest country on earth.” But the award for slickest post-9/11 sales pitch must go to Jeff Tritel, a California sculptor and the mind behind American Brass Balls – which are, basically, replicas of male genitalia cast in silver, brass, vermeil and gold. Brass balls, Tritel explains, tell the world: “We’ve Got What It Takes.” Hawked for their “lifelike realism,” they come in many forms – including, for ladies, the 14K testicular pendant, at $295.95, or brass testicular earrings, only $49.95. Another “unique and wacky gift” is Bumper Balls, to mount on the back of a truck. Once you rummage past the vulgarity of Tritel’s project, you almost feel there is something refreshingly honest about it. No pretension to transcend consumption, no false pledge to forsake profit for September’s victims: softness is still in. (2) opinions -- Add your opinion