In the film What Would Jesus Buy the other night, Judith Levine, author of Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping, is interviewed and makes some interesting remarks that intersect the U.S. obsession with shopping and car culture.
In WWJB, Levine states: "There are many places in America where there are no sidewalks. What does this say about us? It says that we have to be either in our cars or in our house....or in the mall. There are only commercial spaces in almost all of America.... or private spaces. You are either trespassing, or you are buying."
I am always amazed during Christmas by how car-centric the holiday is. It is not that shopping requires a car, but that people seem hardwired in the U.S. to view navigating from point A to point B as car-necessary no matter how small the distance (statistics show that 40% of urban travel in the U.S. occurs within 2 miles). Then they complain about the cost of gym memberships, obesity, and the inevitable weight gain during the holidays. Even holiday activities are geared towards car-culture rather than an activities that are, well, active. At least in Copenhagen they are finding ways to be active during the holidaze. :-D
Ride on people!
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