personalized america

In the time that I've been back in the States, I've noticed something that I didn't before I left - the desire to make everything a one-of-a-kind. No longer are Americans satisfied with having something, we've now found a way to take something and change it the moment it is out of the box.

I was gifted a car about a year ago, a 2000 Subaru Forester (thanks sis!) and as I drive it around, I notice other cars of the same year, model, and color. I feel a sense of kinship with those drivers, we all have the same car. We are a part of a small group and I often will wave at the other driver to acknowledge our bond. Aside from the fact that there are a bunch of Subarus on the road around here, our group has managed to hold on to our cars for a decade and not do much, if anything, to them. But as I scan around traffic looking for my brethren, I notice that there is another group of people on the road who have cars that look nothing like mine - or anyone else's for that matter.

As I started to think about it, cars are not the only things that are customized in this country. Cell phones have covers in a myriad of different designs, laptops mirror them with colors and/or stickers to show the owner's personality. Sports jerseys are adorned with a person's name, not the player, on the back. Cars have decals on the back window to identify the chronological order of the family members or children's names and the sport they love the most. Heck, even key chains and water bottles are venues for a person to give a "shout-out" as to who they are. For every purchase that Americans make, we probably spend even more money on the aspect of making it personalized.

This idea makes me wonder - why do we all have to show just how unique we are? Is there some general feeling of inadequacy in our country that makes people want to prove just how special each one of us is? Do we need everyone to see just how great we are with our accessories? Is that the true meaning of it all? Is it a national Napoleonic complex? With the fact that America's global influence is waning, is this attributing to our people wanting to make their own identity? Being American not enough? Or is there something else?

Growing up in "Brand America", I was constantly barraged with images from Timberland, Nike, Jordache, Calvin Klein, Revlon, etc., about how their product would make me more beautiful, popular, and athletic. But in this day, the corporate logo is starting to take a different look. A person can order a specific type of shirt with a specific logo and tell the brand what s/he wants to wear. The fashion is coming to us from a certain company but we still have the say on what the final product will look like. Perhaps this isn't a Napoleonic complex but rather a realization by industry that customer service means giving the customer exactly what they want. Maybe manufacturers have deduced that a person will buy their product if they just let the customer say what they desire it to be. Have we reached the point where the substance of making a personal statement is bigger than the prestige of owning a name? Are the days of kids bugging their parents for status jeans gone and the days of personalized jeans here? Could the idea of buying a brand for the brand name numbered? One thing is for sure, we seem to be able to afford it. Oh wait, we can't. That would be a reason for last year's financial crisis...

Generation X grew up in "Brand America" and many of us are still label oriented. I know Pipes will buy purses from Coach on them just because they say that they are from Coach. There's nothing wrong with that (aside from the fact that I can't understand paying that much for a purse) but I see that my students do not operate on the same wavelength. Coach purses are valued to some but not most. Generation Me would rather make their statement in another way and the personalization of their gear seems to be more important than who makes it. Part of me applauds that idea - that substance is more sought after than prestige. But part of me is also concerned that this trend could mean a fractured community - if the things that bonded my generation together are not present for this generation, what will bring them together? Is this the beginnings of the fracturing of America? While I doubt it, I still wonder what our new customization fetish will yield in our future.