A Resolution

A few days ago, I was laying on a mattress in a Chicago church, listening to the breath wheeze in and out of the building and people around me. I was unable to sleep, because my mind was doing summersaults. I had just completed my first 12 hour day of a week-long training conference for youth leaders (Click here for more information). Much of this day was spent considering the ways in which our society generates and consumes energy and resources, and how to redirect that flow in more positive ventures. This kind of thinking always makes me consider my actions: am I living the way I want others to live?

I give corporate business a lot of crap. We all know that stores sell stuff to make a profit, and that stuff has to end up somewhere, and a lot of times that end is a landfill. So it's pretty easy to point fingers at a big corporate chain store and say "Look at all of this mess you made. Be sustainable. Digga digga digga."

But there's a reason we're called consumers. Because we are constantly making purchases and making waste. And based on the purchases we make, businesses produce to fill that need. Duh. Not a novel concept, by any means, but I do think that people forget how much power they have just in the small decisions they make everyday regarding consumption. No one decided to make Starbucks such a giant in the coffee world. Yes, their corporate offices strategically placed stores on every corner in the whole country and they have huge advertising campaigns and a naked lady on their merchandise, but all of that wouldn't matter at all if no one bought their coffee. But millions of people do, all the time. Again, you're probably thinking "duh".

I think most people recognize that there are serious problems facing our world right now, and in my experience, most people want these problems to get better. But it's hard to fix systems that are so ingrained in our culture. It's hard to change the current when you can barely keep your head above water. It's not fair to expect people to give up fast food when that's all that they can afford. But what if it were possible to eat healthier on a limited income? What if it were possible to keep local businesses alive? What if you could reclaim power over your purchases?

While i considered this question, I thought about the way I choose to spend my money, and the discrepancies between those decisions and the way I choose to use my words.

I've grown up in Arkansas, mostly in the northwest region of the state. Walmart country. Sam Walton's first store was opened about forty five minutes from the house in which I've spent my life, and the modern corporate offices are located there. Anyone you talk to in this area most likely works for Walmart or one of their vendors, or has someone in their family who does. In my town, we have two Supercenters, a Neighboorhood Market, and a Sam's Club. A new Neighborhood Market is in construction on the west side of town and they just opened a Walmart pharmacy on my college campus. In fact, the business school at my university is named after Mr. Sam himself. That's for a population of about 70,000. It's a way of life here.

I've criticized Walmart along with the rest of the world, for lack of worker benefits, where their products are manufactured, the way their price slashing tends to run local economies into the ground, etc. Important issues, but nothing that hasn't been said before, more eloquently (and nothing that hasn't been committed by other international business giants). And these concerns have never kept me from shopping there. My mother is the same way. She feels like she has to, because that's the cheapest deal, and she has a family to support. What a terrible feeling to have - seeing a big problem, but feeling like you have to keep contributing to it. But what else can you do?

So while I was laying there in Chicago, I had an idea. I knew what I could do. I could finally take a personal stand, and just say no (Sorry for the cliche. This will make up for it.) . That's how this idea was born. I've committed to not setting foot in or shopping at any Walmart store for an entire year. My goal is to attempt to buy what I otherwise would have purchased at Walmart from a local source, and to compare the price and quality of the item to its Walmart counterpart.

I also plan to use this as a place to discuss the opposition I'm sure to encounter during my experiment. Walmart funds this entire area. They have some diehard fans around here, and I'm sure I'll receive my fair share of criticism for my abstinence. I'll write about those experiences, too.

I don't want to condemn Walmart. They give back an enormous amount of money to so many community groups and non-profits, and they are making a lot of strides in sustainability efforts (which could have serious impacts on the rest of the production world). But they do have some practices that I disagree with. I simply want to see how hard it is to practice what I preach. I'm also hoping that by having to stop and think about more about my purchasing choices, I might just realize I don't need to buy so much after all.

Another disclaimer: I'm a college student. I have a meal plan and a scholarship and am supporting only myself on a not-even-part-time job. I'm not going to tell you that you should do exactly what I'm doing because of course it will work for you because of course you're in my same position. I'm trying to see how this will work for me, to learn something about myself and what I value, and to maybe create some sort of conversation while I'm at it.

Here begins a year of not necessarily saving money, and not necessarily living better. But I'm going to try to do both. We'll see what happens.