Ode to Capitalism

Working at a community college in Woodland, most of my time is spent painstakingly going over second language learner's papers. It can be rough sometimes, mostly because I now find myself fixing grammar and puncutation in my dreams, which makes me feel like a huge dork. But, nevertheless, it can be quite entertaining, too. Today, for example, I just proofread two papers by Indian students who have been here less than a year; the first is an ode to Wal-Mart, the second is an ode to Chili's. Why do I find this interesting? Because so rarely are the praises of mass consumerism and commercialism sung that I find such rigorous defense on the part of huge corporations a nice change of pace.

My years at UC Davis (and in California in general) taught me one thing-- chain bad, local good! So even though I give my small amounts into the Wal-Mart and Chili's coffers, there's a certain amount of shame that is accompanied by it. How refreshing to see two people sing the praises of such establishments, even to the point of blasting the critics! The Wal-Mart supporter was flabbergasted that people would say that Wal-Mart is harmful to the national economy-- she praised it's cheap prices, it's clean floors, it's "quality" product (I didn't say she was accurate, just interesting!) and the fact that it's open 24 hours. The Chili's supporter waxed poetic on the chicken nachos, the football on TV and the bottomless sodas. ("My son had four Cokes, and we only had to pay for one!" she wrote.) The questionable choice of giving a child four Cokes aside, I have to wonder: Why are things that are "affordable" so denigrated? People (usually white and middle class, trying hard to be "urban") insist that they only frequent small, over-priced places that are locally owned, but who among us hasn't dipped their toe in the Wal-Mart waters? Who hasn't been secretly pleased at the checkout stand when their basket of items comes up under fifty dollars? And who hasn't enjoyed a loud, friendly restaurant with gingham checkered table clothes and food that has alliterative names-- Rippin' Ribs! Barbeque Blasted Burgers!

So here I am, standing up for capitalism at it's finest-- big, brightly lit establishments that might have questionable customer service and maybe a slight sweatshop history, but have awesome buffalo sauce and discounted toilet paper at 3 AM. And that, my friends, is what America is all about! Funny that it took two American newbies to point it out to me.