The type of business commonly found on America’s street corner hints to the focus of the society of the day. It also predicts our future. I’m sure at some time in our past, Blacksmiths were the center of our cities, and they foretold and helped create the corners of the future.
We see an interesting progression in our corners and ourselves during the second half of the Twentieth Century. Gas Stations and Fast Food Joints were prominent. They also predicted, or more likely created the future.
For the last 100 years our society would have thrown a rod in its collective transmission without fossil fuels. Gas stations on every corner led to our least populated states becoming our richest, and Presidential candidates being elected on the promise of cleaner energy. Gas stations, however, are now our crumbling cornerstones.
The post WWII boom produced many conveniences, and fast food restaurants (I think ‘Fast Food Diner’ fits better) are the ones that we anointed to occupy our corners. We all know the consequence – obesity rates followed the triglyceride rates of our favorite fare, and the chemical filled, gluten and hormone infused diet pumped the lifeblood of the next business to covet our corners.
Just drive your Prius, Leaf, Volt, Fusion, Fit or Insight with your fruit infused, zero calorie sparkling water in the cup holder around any mid-sized American city, and you’ll see the future wolf corporation in sheep’s consumer clothing growing like the petri-dish bacteria it likes to produce and fight.
The accumulation of the negative byproducts of our past corner-copia has led us to our day of reckoning…
How many drugs does the average American consumer take daily in order for there to be a Drug Store on every corner?
Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom
