Thou Shalt Not Shop

What does it say about American culture that some writers would contend that the mall is the place where Americans go to gather, to regain some center, and be a part of some bigger social order? I agree that spatially, malls have the potential to be quite nice. The designers of these things go to great pains to make sure its well lit, somewhat vegetated, and a place where people want to stay. So at night when no one is around to partake in the orgy of consumption, a mall can actually be quite a nice space, though still somewhat creepy in its desertedness. So if malls bring people together, provide a nice place to be, and provide a new institution for the social and spiritual well-being and interconnectedness of humanity, then what's the problem?

The answer is painfully obvious and ever-present in most people's mind when they shop. They know that the mall is not a true Garden of Eden, but simply a transient charm granted by our friend Mephistopheles, a charm for which he will collect dues. And we know this, when we center ourselves in these spaces, halfway between half-off jeans at JCPenny's after-Christmas clearance and half-off blouses at Kaufmann's New Year's sale and standing only yards away from Wendy's salads with half the calories. The soul can never be enlightened/soothed/centered while engaged in the inherently soulless act of material consumption.

But to be fair, people need clothes. What does it matter if they get them at a big department store or some small boutique? Furthermore, what does it matter if that store is in a mall or by itself? The answers to these questions (and a million like it) are numerous, complicated, and debatable. But the fact remains that there is something fundamentally wrong not necessarily with malls, but with the forces that created them. The malls in and of themselves are not a bad thing. It is the very reason for their existence, the position they hold in society, and the further effect they have had upon that society that is problematic. Maybe it's a loss of a sense of purpose that comes with further alienation from the natural world? Whatever it is, humanity cannot sustain its current attitude towards itself and its environment much longer.