Wal-Mart and "Affluenza"

I posted this diary on Kos about my impressions of Wal-Mart from the standpoint of the merchandise available.

There are 2 other aspects of the questions I indirectly raised there ("Do you really need the stuff that Wal-Mart sells besides the stuff that you think you need? And is it really the stuff you need anyway?")

1. Wal-Mart - other than being a microcosm of a sick American economy addicted to petroleum is also a symptom of Affluenza. Wal-Mart relies on people buying stuff for no other objective than for people to buy stuff. (Tangential disclaimer: although I have and done make pancakes from scratch, I will buy mixed stuff if only because I've no other use for buttermilk.)

2. It would be really impossible for Wal-Mart -based on its business model alone- to be able to supply food (and goods) if one were to achieve a mindful existence. As an exercise, keep Dogen's Tenzo Kyokun in mind as you go through Wal-Mart's aisles. Of course, if there was nothing else to eat, wear or use as medicine, one would be constrained to make a feast from the meager offerings in Wal-Mart's aisles, but luckily we ourselves, through our actions/experience can make and use and find and grow ingredients that will never be supplied at Wal-Mart.



(Even the bathroom is a place of practice, you know.)