Homogenized America

In "the olden days," part of the adventure of traveling to other parts of the country was the regional differences in the ordinary lives of people. Small cafes, grocery stores with unfamiliar names and different products, and differences in accents. And you knew you were somewhere far from home.

Today is a different time. Travel from one end of the country to the other and you can conclude quickly that America has become homogenized. Freeways assist the rapid speed of your passage from one place to another. Convenient signs tell you which brands of gas stations you will find at an easy-off exit. And  which fast-food places that are available to satisfy your hunger and add pounds to your already overweight body. Squint your eyes just a bit and you won't be sure if you actually have left home.

How ironic that at the same time, we live in what may be the most politically polarized era in our history. Perhaps we have erased so many of our differences that strong political opinions are all we have left.

It makes me think about what I would show a visitor from somewhere else what is unique and special about the place where I live. It would not be the chain retail stores or restaurants, nor the mini-malls and housing developments with acres of identical homes.It would not be the museums nor the cultural events that make living here so rich. It would not be the magnificent rivers nor the beautiful lakes that are such treasures.

I think I'd invite them to sit down with small groups of people, who could tell them what living here means to them.  How the particular landscape here shapes them. What they value - and what they would change.


Comments welcome. Just click comments below.