The Perfect Microcosm for Everything Wrong in this Country

Earlier this evening, my wife and I ran in to a local Walmart to grab a couple of things before the impending bad weather. The store was super busy but we got our stuff and got out in record time. While waiting in line at the self-checkouts, I observed this individual who had a cart full of stuff, slowly and systematically take everything out of the cart, placing it on the space next to the scanning gimmick. If you are wondering why I found this behavior baffling, it’s because the individual did not remove the items, scan them, and place them in bags. No, they added an extra, unneeded step that probably doubled the amount of time they were using the self-checkout. Seriously, what the hell?!?

On our way back to the car, I told my wife about this individual’s bizarre self-check process which in turn made me think of the people who leave their shopping carts in the parking lot without putting them up. We both bemoaned that seemingly selfish, self-absorbed, and entitled behavior, because it is the perfect microcosm for everything that is wrong in this country.

Back during the plague, this thing started going around social media, the shopping cart theory. Jamey from the blog Jamey Doing Things, summed it up perfectly (emphasis mine) —

Some of you may have seen this going around on social media, and one of the things my Mom ALWAYS made us do, to return the shopping cart or not. That shouldn’t be the question. “The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether or not you are a decent human capable of self-governing.” – Anon. There is no reward for returning the cart, no likes on social media, or no pats on your back. On the other side, there’s also no punishment. It’s not against the law, and the only negative coming from not returning it should be the personal shame one should feel.

[…]

See, the shopping cart determines whether or not you are a good member of society. You must only return the shopping cart because it is the right thing to do. Hell, they even have little stations throughout the parking lot so that you don’t have to walk further than 15 yards to put one back. Even better, find an older lady or gentlemen and walk your cart over to them (after sanitizing it) to make their lives easier. If you’ve taken a trip to the store in your life, you will realize just how many people are NOT on the right side of this argument.

So, whether you return your shopping cart or not (outside of extenuating circumstances) shows what kind of person you are. Are you aware of how your actions affect those around you? Do you care if your actions make someone else’s life harder, even if just a little bit? Do you care?

Let’s tie this into politics. One of the most influential individuals on political philosophy and thought in the 20th-century was Ayn Rand. Probably most well know for her novels 1943’s The Fountainhead and 1957’s Atlas Shrugged, Rand’s most significant contribution was objectivism, a philosophy that at its core teaches and believes that “selfishness is a virtue and altruism a vice.”

Let me state that again. One of objectivism’s principle doctrines is ethical egotism which states “an action is morally right if it promotes the self-interest of the agent.”

Now to be fair, Rand argued that “one’s true self-interest is a rational and long-range self-interest, not a thoughtless, whim-driven lurching from one superficial desire to another.” Unfortunately, I think that part got lost in translation.

Regardless, this philosophy of self-interest influenced the founders of Reason magazine and the Cato Institute, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, just to name a few.

Now think about the 1980s. The time of the yuppies, when the hippy generation traded in their bell bottoms and cocaine for wealth, and Gordon Gekko codified this transition when he proudly said, “Greed is good.”

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good.

Greed is right.

Greed works.

Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Greed, in all of its forms -- greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of mankind.

And greed -- you mark my words -- will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA.

At least three generations were raised either during or in the aftermath of “greed is good.” How’s that working out for us?

Let me be clear and it boggles my mind that this needs to be said, but apparently it does. Greed is not good. Selfishness is not a virtue. Do better people. And for the love of fucking god, put up your carts!

I’m going to leave you with a song that looks at this same subject from other side of the pond. Follow along, read the lyrics while you listen, and think about the effect of selfishness and greed on the world.

(Emphasis mine.)

Whatever happened to childhood?
We're all scared of the kids in our neighbourhood;
They're not small, charming and harmless,
They're a violent bunch of bastard little shits.
And anyone who looks younger than me
Makes me check for my wallet and my phone and my keys,
And I'm tired of being tired out
Always being on the lookout for thieving gits.

We're all wondering how we ended up so scared;
We spent ten long years teaching our kids not to care
And that "there's no such thing as society" anyway.
And all the rich folks act surprised
When all sense of community dies,
But you just closed your eyes to the other side
Of all the things that she did.
Thatcher fucked the kids.

And it seems a little bit rich to me,
The way the rich only ever talk of charity
In times like the seventies, the broken down economy
Meant even the upper tier was needing some help.
But as soon as things look brighter,
Yeah the grin gets wider and the grip gets tighter,
And for every teenage tracksuit mugger
There's a guy in a suit who wouldn't lift a finger for anybody else.

You've got a generation raised on the welfare state,
Enjoyed all its benefits and did just great,
But as soon as they were settled as the richest of the rich,
They kicked away the ladder, told the rest of us that life's a bitch.
And it's no surprise that all the fuck-ups
Didn't show up until the kids had grown up.
But when no one ever smiles or ever helps a stranger,
Is it any fucking wonder our society's in danger of collapse?

So all the kids are bastards,
But don't blame them, yeah, they learn by example.
Blame the folks who sold the future for the highest bid:
That's right, Thatcher fucked the kids.