Mar 13 2013: I personally believe there is a tidal wave of change altering the palimpsest of society. It is rewriting our concepts of what is local, and dramatically transforming our understanding of relationship. It is true that there are fewer eclectic shops, and the ones that remain are in predominantly tourist districts. As a society our values have shifted and there appears to be less and less of an emphasis of connectedness with other people. I believe this has made it that much easier to think inwardly and forget that our financial decisions once used to be about more than the attainment of possession.
In the past, consumerism was also tied in with an attachment to human beings and the geographical area you called home. Going to the supermarket meant engaging with the shop owners in an authentic manner. One would not simply buy an item, they’d be part of society, they would engage with the person on the other side of the counter. At some point we forgot that these local stores supported our friends and family, and got more concerned with mass consumption of “stuff” and shopped base on price, not community. Today’s Walmart’s are devoid of any authentic relationship, they are merely about the exchange of commerce’s.
While maintaining local is important I believe a bigger question is a stake, and it pertains to our abilities to create and maintain meaningful relationships. Does having a couple hundred friends on facebook truly enhance our lives, or make us more human? Has twitter really done anything to move us forward as a race? What is our gauge of success? There is a fundamental change in our children, they are not being raised in an environment like you and I. They have not been taught authentic community; it is quickly being eroded from our society. It is this new mindset that will continue the push for ‘bigger’ and ‘better’ stores that will meld a global community that is detached from the human experience.
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A comment on Conversation: How will travel change local places in the future?
In the past, consumerism was also tied in with an attachment to human beings and the geographical area you called home. Going to the supermarket meant engaging with the shop owners in an authentic manner. One would not simply buy an item, they’d be part of society, they would engage with the person on the other side of the counter. At some point we forgot that these local stores supported our friends and family, and got more concerned with mass consumption of “stuff” and shopped base on price, not community. Today’s Walmart’s are devoid of any authentic relationship, they are merely about the exchange of commerce’s.
While maintaining local is important I believe a bigger question is a stake, and it pertains to our abilities to create and maintain meaningful relationships. Does having a couple hundred friends on facebook truly enhance our lives, or make us more human? Has twitter really done anything to move us forward as a race? What is our gauge of success? There is a fundamental change in our children, they are not being raised in an environment like you and I. They have not been taught authentic community; it is quickly being eroded from our society. It is this new mindset that will continue the push for ‘bigger’ and ‘better’ stores that will meld a global community that is detached from the human experience.