Let me see here. I need to discuss a time on our trip where I have encountered capitalism. I’d have to say that we encountered this beast nearly every single day. It was lessened a bit as we were in the national parks, since we were hanging out more in nature. The exception here is at the Grand Canyon, where we ran into a grocery store to get some food. However, about the half of the store was laden with anything and everything you could imagine having the Grand Canyon logo on it. From caps to shot glasses to DVDs to junior park ranger vests, nearly anything you want to show that you have been there was available for you to buy.
This leads me into how I have encountered capitalism on my travels in America. In an earlier blog on Disneyland and Los Angeles, I mentioned Baudrillard’s talk of hyperreality in light of our “consumer society,” with, well, a gift shop at every corner. The thing is this is true. We started Day 1 in Nashville by looking through the Ryman Auditorium, with its Elvis garb, as well as a slue of print and tourist stores all around Broadway. We saw this in Memphis at Graceland, the Clinton Library in Little Rock, the UFO Museum in Roswell, and the Statue of Liberty in New York. The commoditization of the landmarks in the form of miniatures and shot glasses was enough to show us the face of capitalism. Even in the Washington, D.C. Metro stations, there were advertisements for a nearby water park containing statues of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington with floaties and sunscreen on their noses mingling with happy little white kids pummeling down a waterslide. We experienced capitalism in a multitude of ways, but it was chiefly shown in the gift shops we encountered in nearly every place.
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