Die, Die, DIY! Enough of the Self-Service
Queenan Says: Enough of the Self-Service!
At the end of my visit to my town’s brand-new supermarket the other day, the cashier said she would be more than happy to help me self-check-out my purchases.
I said, “No, thank you, I would prefer that you do that.” She said, “Actually, we prefer that the customers get into the habit of checking out their groceries.” I said, “Actually, I would prefer to never get into that habit. I would prefer that you handle the entire operation. You are the cashier. You are the vicar of groceries. You, not I, work here. So earn your money and ring up my purchases. And then bag them. Please.”
Are we entering a dark, deeply un-American era when we literally have to do everything for ourselves?
Bagging your own groceries is a pernicious tradition imported from France, where people have a history of cravenly submitting to authority. America, by contrast, was founded on the concept of service. It’s what we fought for at Yorktown and the Alamo. John Jay even wrote about it in “The Federalist Papers.”
Today, we’ve forgotten this and ignominiously kowtow. But why should I have to self-direct my 401(k) or judiciously select from an a la carte menu of health-care services? Why can’t somebody do this for me? If I knew anything about health, I’d still be healthy.
