"Shop Local(ly)" ~ Not Just a Slogan

 “Shop Local” is a slogan printed so often on shopping bags, sales slips and in newspaper ads that the important sentiment behind it has become another casualty of the mind-numbing repetitiveness that blinds and deafens us in the same way as “Buy Bonds” or “Drink Coke.” It’s in our natures to block out static. From time to time, it’s important to find a new way of saying things to stay on point.

 Though grammatically wrong, “Shop Local” is a lot more than just one more pitch by your hometown businesspeople to help you part with the contents of your wallet and the change jingling in your pocket. It in fact has much more to do with how the townspeople themselves can proactively maintain the character and strength of their town, its diversity and distinctive flavor. It is the independent and innovative spirit of Mainers and the individuality of Maine towns we place so much stock in that’s at stake. Rather than just “Shop Local,” the full message today should be: “Shop Local. Think Local. Be Local.”

 Something not appreciated perhaps by the general population is the important pair of shoes local businesspeople fill as the front door greeters, ambassadors and social directors for our whole region, not just as merchants but as proud-to-live-here townspeople as well. A great deal of hobnobbing and networking takes place where regular folks meet on their daily rounds in their local places of business, where merchants and customers know each other and where enduring personal relationships are regularly reinforced.

 Beyond that, here in a place where new arrivals and people just passing through make up a huge part of the economy, the businesspeople are charged with making the best possible impression for all that the town and the surrounding area have to offer in the way of natural beauty, cultural events, recreation, services and accommodations. They answer thousands of questions, give directions, disseminate volumes of information, philosophy, advice, local history, weather updates, provide sustenance and restrooms, put up with their sometimes bad behavior, yet always strive to be the friendly and hospitable representatives their role requires. And they do this all day, every day of the year. How much of that sort of interaction takes place in a national chain store? And the much bigger question: What is that worth to you?

 Shopping locally, thinking locally and being a local is not subsidization as many make the mistake of supposing. It is maintaining the true worth and character of your town, the quality of all its enterprises and the contentment of your fellow townspeople. It is keeping the brown paper out of the windows of closed businesses. It ensures that the sidewalks will be free of blowing litter and that planters will be filled with flowers. It pays for the High School yearbook and graduation program. It supports churches, the hospital, museums, musical groups and clubs like the Lions and Rotary. It puts pride-of-place in your chest at the Memorial Day parade. It makes you awfully glad to come home after a long journey. And it gives you the right to claim some credit for keeping your town a real town.

 So . . . as you part with the contents of your wallet and the change jingling in your pocket in your local establishments, don’t let yourself start thinking about the better deal you could have got by driving 20 or 30 miles to the big box store down the pike. Think instead of the 4th of July fireworks, Pirate Days, the Great Pumpkin Fest, Early Bird Days, the Christmas wreaths on Main Street, the dozens of sponsored shows at the theater and events at the library and all around town, the Little League teams, Winter Fuel and Food programs, the animal shelter, conservation programs and restoration projects of all kinds and on and on and on – all supported and paid for, wholly or in part, by your local businessmen and women. And by extension – here’s the good part – YOU.

 If you spend $100 in your locally owned stores, $68 stays in your community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If you shop at a national chain store? Depending on where it is, no more than $43 stays in town. Spend it online, and nothing stays in town. It should be obvious where the best deal is.