Dear Editor: Cost of Living

Dear Editor,

The cost of living seems to be increasing at an almost unthinkable rate! High as those costs climb though, Americans rise above it, because life must go on. Right?! The price of lumber, while it has fluctuated somewhat, is ridiculous. But construction goes on, seemingly unperturbed. Gas prices, while not too crazy yet, in our neck of the woods anyway, are rising. Related to that, food prices are on the rise.

It seems that the best option for many of us is to shop out of town, rather than at our local store. Either that or shop online. I am guilty of this. How many of us really count the cost, though? How much unnecessary wear and tear are we subjecting our vehicles to by shopping out of town? Not to mention the dangers of deer, bad roads, and more.

With gas prices the way they are, are we actually saving much, if any, by shopping out of town? In all actuality, it could be argued that we’re spending more, when we factor in the wear and tear, time, etc.

While this letter could be taken as a “Shop Local” ad, and it kind of is, it’s not that so much as a plea for common sense and community, which are closely related! In order to live in community, especially a relatively small one such as this, we must realize that we’re in this together, whatever “this” is.

In the past year or so, our little community has experienced much change, to say nothing of the country itself and even the world at large. It’s all good, though the majority may not see it so and even those who see it as good change are tempted to complain sometimes. This has been an Apocalypse, in the truest sense of the word (look it up). Many things have been revealed to many people. Among these revelations are who we can really trust and, among other things, the importance of community. Since we’re in this together, we might as well enjoy the ride!

One other thing to consider, when counting the cost, is “community.” When we shop out of town, just because we can save a few pennies, not only do we risk all of the above, we take a chance on losing our sense of community! Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not condemning those who do. We all have to make a living!

As I said, though, this letter is not intended to be an ad for a Shop Local campaign, but rather to get us all to really think about why our local prices might be rising and what we can do about it. So, the next time we’re tempted to complain about the rising costs of living in our little town, think first about why those costs are rising. Can we afford to live here by not being resourceful within our own community?

Charles Haddon Shank

Whitehall, Montana