Fading Christmas thoughts

I realize that we are now almost officially out of the Christmas season, but a posting today on Common Dreams brought back me back to several thoughts I had the week before Christmas.  My ideas started to form after watching Frank Capras' "Its a Wonderful Life".  The thoughts I had never got committed to paper but this brought it all back.

As I watched the annual movie event, I too was suddenly struck by the scene of Main Street Bedford Falls as it was turned into Pottersville.  This is what our modern capitalistic society has turned small town life into for many rural areas including my own.  Where quaint shops, the small town hardware store, the neighborhood grocery store and even the locally owned savings and loan are now all replaced by Walmart, Wells Fargo, McDonalds and Lowe's.  And where the only thriving local business left on Main Street is a bar (or several).   In our case, it's not only the bars, but in Deadwood it's the gambling halls that have also replaced local business.  There now is even a move afoot to bring a nude dancing club to neighboring Lead, South Dakota, as "economic development".   


A recent facebook discussion with a libertarian concerning the right of free enterprise and capitalism further cemented my fears for the future.  According to the poster, we should let capitalism develop, unfettered and pretty much unregulated, and "let the market" determine the outcome.  That of course extends to wages, which should only be determined by what the law of supply and demand will dictate.  We are well underway from the transition from Bedford Falls to Pottersville.  Just as the townfolk were changed by the mentality of "survival of the fittest" from neighbors helping neighbors, we now are a nation fallen pray to Mr. Potter's business plan.  The Republican plan fits well with Mr. Potter as we see the definition of small business owners change, a continued attack on unions and a not so secret plan to bankrupt state governments to further erode public unions.

Sadly, in the face of the new Congress, I don't feel much hope for the next year for our small town life.  I think its time for the people of Bedford Falls to join with George Baily and return some of that wonderful small town life back.  Other wise the transition to Pottersville and Potters Field will be complete very soon.