The Drive-through Phenomenon

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We are always short of time, or so we are led to believe.

We're so short of time that many of us have become couch potatoes! We sit for hours in front of the TV munching on unhealthy pre-packaged snacks, order Chinese food or pizza for home delivery, but we don't have time to prepare a healthy, home-cooked meal.

There seems to be a difference between perception and reality. Who's trying to sell us a bill of goods?

The following dialogue is between two chimpanzees named Abu and Mabu: I use A and M to distinguish the speaker.

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M: Abu, do you want to hear another crazy story about humans?

A: What do you have this time?

M: Well, this one will flabbergast you for sure.

A: I can't wait to hear it.

M: You already know about human infatuation with cars and speed, this one combines the two. They now have stores that they drive up to with their cars and they buy food and drinks without stepping out of the car.

A: That's really crazy!

M: It's true! They drive up with their car to a window, an attendant takes the order, they drive on to another window and another attendant gives them what they ordered. It's as simple as that!

A: Just like that? They don't have to wait?

M: It's all prepared before they arrive. It's what they call fast food.

A: And then what do they do?

M: They take it to the house and eat it.

A: Don't they have food in the house?

M: Of course they do; but they would have to prepare it and it takes time. Humans no longer have time to cook their own meals.

A: But they have time to drive to the fast-food store to buy it?

M: That's human logic for you!

A: Why do they call it fast food?

M: Because they couldn't call it good food!

A: So, they eat bad food because it saves time?

M: No. It's because it saves work. Don't forget, they work in those smoke-belching factories all day long, so they don't want to work at home.

A: But if it's bad, why do they eat it?

M: Well. The food actually tastes good because it has all the ingredients that humans love (fat, sugar and salt), but it's very unhealthy. That's why it's bad.

A: Who owns these drive-through fast-food stores?

M: They're mostly owned by large corporations, which, in turn, are owned by the one percent.

A: Aha! I knew it. It had to be them! Who else would sell unhealthy food to unsuspecting humans?

M: You're absolutely right!

A: Why do humans fall for these crazy schemes designed by the wealthy solely to enrich themselves?

M: Because they're humans!

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As the old proverb says, there's a sucker born every minute!

So, why do we need drive-through facilities at MacDonalds or Tim Hortons, for example? Are we really so desperate for time that we can no longer go inside to have a coffee?

Nay. The driver for such changes is not shortage of time. People have been made to believe that it is, but the real reason is higher profits. It's cheaper for the coffee shops to have cars line up outside to buy their offerings than to provide bigger stores, to accommodate the same number of people inside, not to mention the larger parking space. The myth that people are always short of time still persists, and will continue to persist because it's big money for the one percent!


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