Independent America

It was very cool to follow along virtually with Hanson and Heather as they toured around the U.S. looking for Independent America -- mom 'n pop shops and other non-chain businesses. They're in the process of going through hours of footage and gleaning the best. This week they posted about what they've discovered. The first theme rings most true for me after researching some of this stuff over the past year:

"There's a growing hunger for community in the country -- an appreciation for relationships and civic responsibility. A realization that since we can control so little of what is happening in the outside world, what we can control closer to home matters more than ever. Citizenship vs. consumerism."

I keep blathering about values and how most of us aren't very good at aligning our lifestyle decisions with our core values -- I think the hunger they talk about here is right in the middle of that tension. I'm looking forward to seeing the result of this excellent project.