The Grocery Cart Theory

Having pulled many loads of new grocery shopping carts that serve as replacements for aged, broken, and lost carts for some of the big box stores, I got to wondering, if this symbol of American retail could be a divining rod to find which way a person's moral compass is a good point. My curiosity towards this started after reading an anonymous post that one of my Facebook friends had shared. After pondering its message, I began to realize the plausibility that something so simple quite honestly could show a person‘s true inclination to do what is right, even when they are not being watched.

So in a perfect world, you use your shopping cart to do your shopping, and after putting your groceries back in your vehicle, you walk your cart back a few steps to the cart corral and safely leave it be. These cart corrals exist for several simple reasons. If left elsewhere in the lot, the wind may blow them into someone else’s vehicle, causing undue property damage.These areas also serve as a deterrent of sorts, putting them in one simple area for a store employee to collect them periodically, so they are not out in other outlying areas where they can be stolen and taken off property. But, without any real policing or enforcement of this perfect world scenario, of all carts finding the corrals, as well as no direct negative consequences if not adhered to, it is simply an honor system compelling everyone to do so. 

Unless there is a legitimate condition limiting someone from doing so (i.e. being pregnant, injury, or serious emergency,etc.), it takes but a few seconds to complete this act of common courtesy and test of character. Yet, countless times a day, this simple act is defied, as people are inconsiderate enough to leave their carts strewn across anywhere they please, sometimes only steps away from the cart corral. To me, this seems like a pretty good indicator of someone’s character, seeing if their moral compass points “true north” so-to-speak, even when no one is around to notice!  

As drivers, we often find ourselves in numerous situations where we are compelled to do the right things, based solely on our conscience and beliefs. Whether it’s a bag of trash someone left in the spot they occupied the previous night at the truck stop after they left, or not properly disposing of an “alternative fluid receptacle” by throwing it out on the roadside, it’s apparent that not everyone believes in doing the right thing when no one is looking! So, whether you find yourself in a grocery store parking lot watching who puts away their cart and who doesn’t, or if you’re sitting at a rest area watching who actually walks their bag of trash over to the receptacle, remember, that this may serve as a small look into a much larger judgment of character. Remember to do the right thing, even when you think no one will notice!