New sights, sounds, tastes and smells are the best souveniers of traveling. And most often those new sensory experiences (new to you, at least) are the products of local culture, be it the culture of a homegrown small town, traditions of an entire country, a trend-setting big city, a ritualistic tribal village or even the freeing feeling of the open road in the middle of nowhere. Gifts, such wonderful gifts, are the open-air markets on a cobblestone street in Rome, the electric marquees of Times Square, thatched roofs in Bali or the oceans of wheatfields in Kansas. So what happens when a Wal-Mart superstore replaces the farmer's market? When ads for Disney movies replace posters for Shakespeare in the park? How about pre-fab tract housing and corporate farming?
Big sigh.
The Unfinished List of Culture Killers circa 2006
1. flourescent lighting
2. faux-wood veneer
3. corrugated, sheet-metal buildings
4. pre-fabricated, subdivision housing (any era)
5. fast food chains
6. most Wal-Mart, Dollar General and Kohl's merchandise
7. conspicous consumption
8. most Kraft foods products
9. homes where the garage is more prominent than the actual house
10. frozen, single-serve meals
11. two-liter soda
12. blight
13. glass-n-cinder-block box office buildings
14. plastic plants
15. licensed cartoon characters
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