Starbucks is the soul of America

If you were depressed before you got your morning cup of coffee, then feel free to add a shot of kahlua before you keep reading. This will be a shock, but apparently it’s your coffee that is causing you to feel disconnected from the rest of the world.

Allow Temple University History Professor Bryant Simon to explain:

“As our sense of association and communalism have rolled back, buying has seeped in more and more aspects of daily life. Starbucks used that retreat in public life to sell us what we want.”

This is the new Bowling Alone. In losing our connection to each other, we’ve searched for validation from our purchases. And in his new book, Everything But The Coffee: Learning From America About Starbucks, Simon argues it’s Starbucks that offered us the chance to find a new community.