“Hardware store’’!?! I haven’t heard that term in almost thirty years. That went the way of ‘’factory’’ and ‘’phone booth’’. Yeah, America is vanishing alright.
Actually I see a run on hardware stores in perspective as a *good* thing.
Let me make an analogy. Not too long ago there was a lot of talk about a very real threat, the H5N1 Avian flu (which is still a threat, btw). This got the public attention, so that when flu shots arrived, for a *different* flu, mind you, something very interesting happened.
Crowded drug stores and anywhere else where flu shots were being given. The public turned out in force to get flu shots. Was this a bad thing, a sign of despair and surrender? Certainly not. These were people who saw a threat, and even though their response was not perfect, it was a response. They acted.
Now compare this to the hardware store scenario. The author bemoaned that people were not spending their money on frivolity or silly luxuries.
But what were they spending it on? Hardware. Hardware that is used to replace, repair, or maintain things that matter in life. This reflects concern, even some degree of fear.
But the response is not to cower or run away, but to protect themselves and their families. And that is *not* how societies end.
It might be how governments end, though. At least in their current form.