Happy Fourth of July to all. I'm not in the most patriotic of moods, but I do love a BBQ so who can complain? I can. Ha.
So recently I was walking through my neighborhood and noticed a new business coming to Court Street, on the site of a cute clothing store that clearly could not make the rent any longer. I hate how small business is being shut out of my neighborhood, but that's not why I'm writing. I'm writing because I always get excited for new retail, because maybe it could be something I'm really craving here in Cobble Hill- somehow always praying for a really good vegan place or something (not vegan but love the option) but alas- never comes.
As I peered in the window I saw the sign- it was announcing a new bakery (so many bakeries here already) and alas- the sign promised the following: "MORE THAN JUST A BAKERY". Huh?
I feel like I'm channeling the baby of Seinfeld and Andy Rooney here, but seriously- what is with businesses and people needing to be "more than" they are lately? I'm happy for a bakery to be just a bakery. That's truly good enough for me unless magically you really are providing more somehow- like curing Cancer or telling the future. I suspect that's not the case for this place that will most likely offer halfway decent croissants. Be happy with that. Be in that. Why offer more if you're really not, well, more?
I wrote a long time ago about how brands nowadays feel the need to somehow be more than. I agree that a civic and social minded brand is a better brand in most cases, but sometimes I just want my toilet paper to be my toilet paper. I don't need toilet paper with a conscience or sense of humanity. I'm tired of this promise of "more" when it's really not more. Just be good at your thing and make that enough. Why must everyone and everything feel the need to give more?
Kidding aside, this notion of being more than is a pandemic in our society. We've reached full tilt when it comes to what's expected of us. We need to be more. We want more. We need more skills. More toys. More beach time.More Instagram followers. More shoes. More likes. It's no longer enough to just be who we are, and I think that's sad. I for one am always looking for ways to do more, but maybe what I need to be doing is focus on doing a bit less, and just perfect those things? Somebody said once less is more, did they not?
I'm not sure when our obsession with more took over- we are far past Gordon Gekko and many have railed against the notion of more by retreating to tiny houses and living out of vans. I'm not necessarily talking about "more" in the materialistic sense though. I'm just talking about the need to always offer more than what you can do or offer. It seems so ludicrous to me.
Plus right now we are living in an unprecedented America where a bloated orange man baby alien feels the need to tweet with the reckless abandon of a nuclear cyclone who never quite grew up. And that's the thing I guess- I do need more. But it has nothing to do with a "croissants and" moment or more from myself. I want more from my country.
More morality.
More kindness.
More tolerance.
More respect.
More opportunities.
More compassion.
More humility.
More caring.
More empathy.
More tools to cope with this current regime.
I want more people to speak up against this scourge. That's what I want more of on this Fourth of July. I want to get back to more of what it means to be a good American, human, friend, neighbor. All of that. I don't want croissants or toilet paper that offers me more than what they are, but what I want more of is this country to heal and get well. Because as Americans, we deserve more. I truly believe that. And we're more than this administration. As Americans, we should simply want more from our leaders and for those in power. Don't be distracted by the "more" that doesn't matter. It matters that we take the power of more and make things right.
Because you and I both know we don't need another pastry plus.
Cause that's what's up this wanting more from America kind of 4th of July in Brooklyn. Yours, in more, more, more. XO