Despite my best intentions, today I failed to avoid the local Walmart. Partly out of necessity, but mostly out of morbid curiosity I decided to test my resilience to its gargantuan consumerism. Maybe it's snobbery or my own version of class consciousness, but to me Walmart represents a kind of low point in American life. Not the store itself, which can be sort of fun if you don't think too much about the context, but what it's about  - a kind of lowest common denominatorism. The people shopping there go across the spectrum of age and social status but it has been successful through its uniquely American combination of a friendly exterior masking a ruthless intent. Walmart plays by the rules which means undercutting smaller competitors and working its employees as hard as they can without braking any laws (while sometimes crossing the line). The people are there because it's cheaper than other places and because someone else is underpaying them and they are slaves to a system that hold everyone ransom with healthcare. But no one's thinking of that. They're clogging the aisles with their carts looking sallow under the florescent lighting finding specials and doing right by their families. The lady at the register is chatty and friendly asking me about the face wash I buy and thanking me for handing her an item I decide not to buy instead of leaving it at the entrance to the conveyor belt. I leave, my good mood undiminished. God help me, but I sort of enjoyed it.