As time progresses, it’s inevitable that technology will progress with it. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there comes a point when it becomes damaging to a society. We are always coming up with ways to make our lives easier and more comfortable. How can we achieve maximum efficiency, while putting forth minimal effort? That appears to be pragmatic solution for the human condition. After all, who wants hardship, even a little bit of inconvenience?
This concept has some value, no doubt. But, there comes a moment when convenience negatively impacts your community. At the click of a button, we can have something dropped off at our door, instead of spending a few extra minutes on our way home from work and buying it from a local business. Those clicks compound, while your local business gets less and less foot traffic in their store. Online convenience helps billionaire Jeff Bezos, it hurts Bubba’s hardware store down the road. Who would you rather support?
Right now, a lot of people are sitting at home in quarantine. Cellphone towers are overloaded because of the amount of people surfing the web. It goes without saying that online shopping is at an all-time high. Many of us have lived long enough to see the transition of people shopping from local businesses, including malls and other retailers, to predominately online shopping. But in these unprecedented times, it’s important to take notice how our local businesses are going above and beyond their normal duties.
By frequenting these places, we develop relationships with the business owners and staff. We learn about their families, friends, and struggles. Because of this, we start to care about their endeavors; so, we add a few extra dollars as a tip and they usually perform a service for free or at a discounted rate. We create an actual community and homegrown value by doing this, not faceless consumerism over the internet.
A strong community is a necessity for a civilized society. Our once beautiful towns and cities are decaying slowly; in fact, you’re starting to see it in formerly prominent areas. One of the main reasons this is happening is because there is no sense of community anymore. People don’t care about their neighbor’s property or store because they don’t know them. When apathy kicks in, decay follows. This is independent of demographic shifts, although that is an extreme multiplier in such a situation.
I’ve had to work everyday during this quarantine; I’ve seen a lot of different things local businesses are doing that most people wouldn’t experience sitting at home on their laptop or cellphone. I’ve always been an advocate for shopping local and the rewards have paid off. I’ve, personally, had very few worries during these times. I have a freezer stocked full of pork, beef, and chicken. All of which came from local farms. I have a pantry full of canned goods pulled from last year’s garden. And, I have fresh eggs, daily, from my wife’s “pets.” In addition, by supporting local businesses, I genuinely know both the buyers and sellers. I have more faith in my community than Amazon.
This virus will go away and society will slowly return to normal. However, it’s important to notice the businesses that kept society relatively normal and functional during this so-called pandemic. Big Tech will always be around. But, your neighbor or family member’s business can easily close its doors because the chains, big box stores, Amazon, Walmart, etc. literally stole their customers. Meanwhile, your government prohibited your people from even opening their doors or greatly restricted their operations. Save your Amazon money and tip a few extra dollars at the local store. Go to your hometown hardware store and buy it from them, or have them order supplies for you. They’ll remember what you did for them, not Jeff Bezos.
Keep your community strong and stop supporting the people that are against the very thing that keeps your town alive and independent. Globalism is the virus, Localism is the cure.
-By Dixie Anon
O I’m a good old rebel, now that’s just what I am. For this “fair land of freedom” I do not care at all. I’m glad I fit against it, I only wish we’d won, And I don’t want no pardon for anything I done.
