Mercantile Madness and Sanity

Today is likely to be a day of mercantile madness for me and hundreds of thousands of others. I will, however, attempt to retain a modicum of thought in what I am doing with my dollars.

I happened to catch the always-enjoyable and thought-provoking Jim Hightower on Kansas City's Community Radio KKFI the other day. He advised us that "A group called AMIBA––American Independent Business Alliance––has organized the 'Indie Challenge,' urging We the People to rediscover the local businesses that make our towns special––from coffee shops to restaurants, book stores to hardware stores, pharmacies to farmers markets." It's a good idea, and the website for AMIBA looks like one worthy of visiting regularly for its Recommended Readings, Articles, and Links. Unfortunately, we here in Kansas City don't have a chapter at this time.

Placing the issue in a more global context, That Colored Fella has a thoughtful post on national efforts to help the "blue" companies.

As I spend my dollars today and in the coming week, I won't pretend that I am going to be "pure". I am certain that some mega-stores controlled by obnoxious Republicans are going to get a few of my dollars, and that some of the products I purchase will be produced by people with whom I deeply disagree.

That said, however, I will make a sincere effort to support local companies and companies that have a social conscience (the two are not necessarily the same, of course). Without tipping my hand for those who may be the objects of my gift-buying, I'd encourage people to consider spending some of their money at places like The Roasterie, SRO Video (don't they have a webpage?), Latin American Imports, the Reading Reptile, and even the non-local but employee-friendly Costco.

Who else should I list? If you're from another city, post your favorites with their locations, so we'll know where to go when we travel . . .