The Big Problem

I find myself in an excellent culture, which troubles me. The contrast with my own country concerns me. I repeatedly arrive at the thought that French people seem to lead more satisfying lives, on average, than Americans. I cannot help but ask why; through that inquiry I think I found an insight into a subtle cultural peril facing America and the world. Permit me this rant.

There are no billboards in France’s Savoie region. What’s more, there are no Wallmarts, Starbuckses, Holliday Inns, or Pizza Huts. Everything you find here is unique. Every shop is original. Every hotel, rated two stars or four, is independent. Every restaurant offers a specialty that is actually special.

Why? Because artisans define French culture. Further, pride in one’s unique artistry constitutes a central (and often misunderstood as arrogant) tenet of French culture. If you make baguettes in Savoie, then you are a bread artisan, and damnit you are proud to make the best bread you can. The same goes for the cheese maker, the pipe carver, the farmer, the butcher, the wine maker, etc.

What can America learn from this? What can I learn? I’ll generalize, but I think accurately. In America we also aspire to be the best at what we do, but by best we typically mean biggest. Be the biggest name in Hollywood. Move to the Big City. Make the biggest profits. Everything is bigger in Texas. Drive the biggest car. Build the biggest muscles. Executive penthouse on the highest floor of the biggest building. Biggest house on the block. Biggest client base. Venti coffee. Jumbo size. Think Big.

So what is wrong with big? Nothing, except for everything you have to sacrifice to get big. Americans are gypsies – skipping from location to location, job to job, career to career in search for big success. We gladly abandon our hometowns and local heritages (or what’s left of them after Wallmart obliterates every unique shop in town) in that pursuit of big fame and big fortune. I posit that increasing American individualism results from decreasing local culture.

Why stay in Detroit if Detroit is the same as Dallas or Kansas City or Cleveland or Scranton? Our metropolises suffer from escalating cultural confluence – big box stores, malls, and convenience centers are wiping away our character. The pursuit of big success drives us to big business, which all too often crushes little mom and pop, destroying any local flair that might keep a person satisfied with their local culture, thereby encouraging the person to abandon local heritage in pursuit of big success. If I am right, then bigness begets sameness.

Savoie reminds us that the pattern is not universal. There are people out there satisfied with their hometowns. Those people are content – happy even – to chose a humble trade and excel at it. French success is feeling good, not big. Part of feeling good in France is investing yourself in a strong local culture, place, food, and people.

My advice? Support your local farmer’s markets. Cherish the co-op. Celebrate cottage industry. Buy local. Think like Vermont. Resist big box stores.

It’s true that the local bakery doesn’t generate tax base like Super Target, nor will the local movie rental store boost GDP. Local will cost more also. However, I’ll gladly pay extra to preserve uniqueness, traditions, and diversity in America. They pay 60% tax or more over here – consider the co-op a self-imposed ethos tax. Let’s reincorporate artistry, not for the sake of the artist, but for the sake of our culture.

Of course I am overlooking something in this rant. America is a superpower exactly because from the outset we permitted and promoted the drive to big, individual success. It's called the American Dream. I still love that dream. I have my own American Dream to build renewable energy power plants - a decidedly big goal. However, let's not "make it big" at the expense of making it well.

Find your own artistry. Find a passion, not just something that will make you a big success. I struggle so much with this. I’m torn between “making it big” in the conventional sense and following a more personal calling. Perhaps France can give me the strength to say "big blows."