Slow down - not so fast!

Slow down - not so fast!

December 13, 2001

It's The Pitts
By Lee Pitts

I’ve always admired Italians for their appreciation of the finer things in life. After all, these are people who gave us spaghetti, Sophia Loren and the Ferrari. So I was not surprised when the cowboy boot-shaped country came up with yet another way to enrich our lives. Thirty-three Italian towns and cities have joined together to form an organization called "Slow Cities Network" whose goal is to put the brakes on this global sphere we call earth. To be eligible for membership cities and towns must introduce measures to calm our frenzied lifestyle. Any group that promotes the banning of car alarms, minute macaroni and neon signs deserves our serious support.

Italy was largely responsible for the first Renaissance and if this idea catches on, as I hope it does, it could also be at the forefront of the next one. The Slow Cities network is looking to expand beyond Italy and I think we should help. Admittedly there could be problems. For example, Slow Cities are promoted by Italy’s Minister of Culture, a quality some North American cities do not possess.

If you don’t think we need to slacken our pace a little just look around. We’re all in the Express Lane at the grocery store and in the fast lane on the freeway. The new American dream is to get rich as quick as possible by becoming a "Survivor" on TV. When asked "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" we all quickly raise our hands without asking the terms and conditions. We get our exercise on tread mills and our religion at drive-in churches and talk radio. Parents fill in every second with activities for their kids and then bemoan the fact they grew up so quickly. I’d suggest that parents who wonder where the time went should look in their Daytimers®. The Microwave Generation is all about instant gratification, quick fixes, one minute managers, instant oatmeal, one hour laundry and five month marriages.

Slow Cities evolved from the Slow Food movement, an international effort begun in 1989 to preserve home cooking. Remember that? And no, they’re not referring to minute steaks and stand-up breakfasts featuring instant coffee, instant eggs and instant potatoes.

If I had my way a town or city that wanted to qualify as an official Slow City would prohibit condensed books, quickie divorces and bar-coded babies. Have we all become so busy that we can’t take the time to read a good book in its entirety, play checkers in the real world instead of the virtual one, make homemade ice cream, build a box, grow a bean, make a shirt or a sew a quilt? If by playing ball with your kids or going fishing with some friends makes you less brutally efficient who really cares? Other than your friends and kids, that is. Our society is in a big hurry, drinking from the same cup of triple latte. I’d say we all need to be decaffeinated.