Individualism in America

As we prepare for the upcoming mid term elections, the political heat has been turned up by both sides of the aisle. The Republicans have attempted to draw our attention towards national security whilst the Democrats are floundering for an issue to call their own. So far, all they seem to have come up with is the necessity for change. Change in and of itself is not healthy for society. Change requires an identification of something amiss within society followed by, the selection of a specific requisite course of action to re-adjust social direction, implementation of the change and finally, follow up to insure that the change has been effective. All I've heard from the DNC is, "Vote us in and we'll make changes." Change in our society begins at the individual level. We don't need to be told by politicians that we need change. The national government's primary reason for existence is to protect us from enemies both foreign and domestic. A secondary requirement of our government is to limit unnecessary roadblocks as they occur in our individual pursuit of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The strength of our great country has always been based on the strength of the individual. Traveling this past week through rural Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada brought this great American attribute into clarity.

I spent part of this past week in the rugged mountainous region north of the Great Salt Lake. This area is home to ranchers and miners. Their primary concern is living. They scratch out a living with most of them living below the poverty line but, it may surprise you that I detected no sense of animosity amongst them. Instead, they were proud of their individuality, their families and the general condition of their lives. They were not looking for federal handouts. They take it upon themselves to improve their lot.

These observations bring me to my point of the week. When did our society absolve the individual from taking responsibility for his or her own actions? If you are not responsible for yourself, then who is? At times, it seems that the nouveau trend is for the individual to blame others for his or her plight. It's their spouse's fault, their friend's fault, the other driver's fault, their boss screwed them, etc, etc, etc. People expend more energy blaming others than they do looking inward. On a personal level, I know this to be a basic human flaw that must be recognized and dealt with. Looking at yourself and enforcing a requisite behavior pattern is often the most difficult task we undertake in our daily lives. Unfortunately, failing to accomplish this often leads to entire social groups blaming others. For example, many blacks blame whites for their social condition; according to some who support illegal immigration, it's not the illegal immigrant's fault for being illegal and for many gays, it's not their group's fault for the general populace not supporting their stand on legalized marriage. Understandably, you cannot paint all of these groups with a broad brush and leave it at that for, there are most definitely free thinking individuals within each group; however, there are enough individuals within each group to formulate a generic thought pattern for the group. Why?

Free thought is a difficult task at best. It requires time, situational analysis, and the open minded acceptance of new data. The crux of the issue is, free thought leads to a belief pattern and new data need not necessarily lead to a change in belief. On an individual level, you choose to change or not. You cannot allow others to make your mind up for you. At times, each man is an island. The reality which connects us together is the safe, navigable water between islands. These waters form our society. You are responsible for keeping your own island clean of debris. Maybe we all should spend more time thinking for ourselves, examining our actions, and less time searching for distractions. No person, government, nor any social group should ever keep you from thinking anew. All you can do is treat yourself and others with respect and, be ever mindful of the fact that you and only you are the captain of your ship.

Landscapes: Testaments to Time

I've just returned from an extended two week tour of the West. My loads took me from the Pacific Northwest to Southern California, Colorado, across the vastness of Utah and Nevada, back into California and finally, up into Oregon. As I passed through these regions, the stark ruggedness of the land brought into focus for me just how small the human struggle is in the great scheme of things. All too often, we tend to place our struggles for power, money, security, ideology etc, over the landscape. As a specie, we see ourselves as more important than we really are. Instead of each generation hurrying about to place its stamp on the universe, they ought to just open their eyes to the wonder that surrounds them. With all of the worldly pressures around us it is easy to forget just how beautiful this earth is.

My route took me through several versions of the American desert and mountain environment. The Mojave, Great Salt Lake, and Great Basin have much in common. Of course, they can be blistering but, they can as well be extremely cold. As you rush by at 70 MPH it is easy to miss the life which abounds there. The joshua tree of the Mojave gets replaced by the grease bush of the Great Salt Lake, which in turn gets replaced by the sagebrush of the Great Basin. The desert mountains are beautiful, especially when light and shadows vie for influencing the striations of their rocky surface. How old are they? Who knows. How many variations of the human tumult have they quietly observed? It is sort of comical when you consider it. Do the jackrabbit, coyote, raven or puma ever realize just how important our human struggles are or, are they simply too preoccupied by their daily struggle for survival? Traveling through the Colorado Plateau, Wasatch, Rockies, Sierras, and Cascades revealed the imminent approach of winter. Deciduous vegetation was already beginning to change color. There was a certain briskness to the morning air and light snow was covering the summits of the Cascades. Fall has arrived in the high country with winter in hot pursuit. Deer, elk, and black bear are devouring a smorgasbord of life in an effort to prepare themselves for the onslaught of winter. They seem to not care much about the human condition. Maybe we are not as important as we believe.

My point is simple. We tend to take ourselves a bit too seriously. Yes, world events are important. The War on Terrorism, the upcoming elections, immigration, and local politics will require our undivided attention however, don't lose sight of life. Pay attention to the flights of southbound song birds and waterfowl. Observe the light changes as summer moves into fall and fall to winter. Notice the squirrel as he franticly scampers to and fro, collecting all the nuts he possibly can. Find out what your kids are up to. Are they happy? Do they enjoy school and their friends? Are you happy? What makes you happy? What is your neighbor like? Are you ready for winter? In short, are you ready for life? Regardless of how important we feel we are, the land will be here long after our demise. All one can do is, pay attention to the beauty which surrounds you, live for each moment, and be considerate of those around you who are attempting likewise.

Wal-Mart: Class Warfare in the Marketplace

I live in a medium sized town in Central Oregon which is growing at a fast pace. As new residents arrive, a more viable and diverse market place will be required to support their consumer wants and needs. Our city's economy is primarily based on the tourism industry. The logging industry used to predominate the area however, it has disappeared and the large mill complex it supported has been transformed into an upscale shopping, business, and residential community. The downtown area has also been transformed into a marketplace for chic boutiques. Both of these locations primarily cater to tourists and local citizens with disposable incomes.

Our identification as a fast growing resort community has brought an influx of affluent retired or semi-retired citizens who come to build their retirement home in order to relax and enjoy their retirement years. Being a resort community, we naturally see a large influx of tourists. Our climate and geographical location supports a healthy year-round tourist industry.

The confluence of these two events, as well as others, has caused an economic separation within the community. The tourism industry, regardless of location, is historically known as a low paying, service oriented industry. Affluent retired citizens do not start new businesses. Tourism and a manufacturing based economy do not easily coexist hence, the disparity between those with a disposable income and those young families struggling to get by continues to widen.

As I've stated, our tourism based economy provides low paying jobs for our community thus, many young families are trying to get by on limited budgets. They require a competitive marketplace which will offer them the best buying power for their dollar. Many of them choose to spend their money at our local Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has noticed this and decided that our area can support the construction of a Supercenter. A Supercenter is not some monolithic box shaped monstrosity as some would have you believe; rather, it is simply a Wal-Mart with a grocery store attached to it. Not being naive of course, we all know that Wal-Mart's desire to build a Supercenter is not altruistic in nature and that they wish to increase their profits.

Thus the battlelines have been drawn between those with disposable money and those just trying to get by. Many of those who oppose Wal-Mart's Supercenter desire to see our community grow to resemble Aspen or Vail, Colorado. Being a former resident of Colorado and an avid skier, I can tell you that the "worker bees" of these two towns have to reside further west along I-70 in the towns of Gypsum and Eagle, Colorado. Why? Simply because they cannot afford to live in a resort community and thus, they have become a commuting body of underclass workers. Do we truly wish this for our pristine community? I hope not.

The primary organization opposing this Supercenter is called, Our Community First. A quick glance at their website reveals their intent. They are purely an anti Wal-Mart organization. A primary fiscal donor to their organization is a grocery store workers union. Contrary to their name, they are not interested in our community at large; rather, they wish to see it grow into a form which is not inclusive of others. They have stated that we do not need another Wal-Mart. In their view, the current store is sufficient for our town and yet, they are currently opposing the construction of the Supercenter due to the perceived development of traffic congestion at the new store site. If the present store is more than sufficient for our community then the question begs to be asked, how could there possibly be a traffic problem at the new store's location? They also oppose Wal-Mart because they claim box type stores are an eyesore. I guess they didn't notice that across the street from the proposed Supercenter, a Lowe's and Home Depot coexist next to eachother. Following their logic, our eyes should really be hurting by now.

Why would an organization with a name like Our Community First oppose a Wal-Mart? Do they wish to develop an underclass within their community? Do they oppose a healthy free marketplace? If, as they stipulate, their concern is for their fellow man, why would they force him to spend his hard earned dollars in a more costly manner? Unfortunately, the answers to these and other questions remain unanswered. When provided the opportunity, this group has refused to debate their viewpoints in a public forum. They choose to castigate Wal-Mart at governmental public hearings and avoid discussions with fellow citizens. It is time for those of us who oppose their viewpoints to stand up and be accounted for.