Larry Moore (May 28 letter) reports spending over an hour at the Trump Superstore in Myrtle Beach. Though it’s reasonable to infer he didn’t leave empty-handed, he didn’t reveal whether he bought anything. If age makes relocating to a more politically hospitable state like South Carolina impractical for Mr. Moore, it should also mean that, like many of us, he has reached the stage of life where accumulating stuff ought to give way to decluttering. Still, if Trump merchandise brings him joy, more power to him. But at some point, we begin to declutter, or our relatives will do it for us after we’re gone.
The deeper truth is ownership matters less than it once did. We’re told Gen Z and Millennials value experiences over accumulating “stuff.” Technology makes this possible. Why buy CDs or albums when you can stream nearly every song ever recorded? Why chase owning a vacation home, or heaven help you, a timeshare, when Airbnb and VRBO exist? Unless you love the feel of a physical novel, a Kindle works just fine. If the future means summoning a driverless car rather than owning one, you see where this is going.
There’s a certain irony in the fact that while his merchandise is being sold in that superstore, President Donald Trump is now also a merchant of digital trading cards and cryptocurrency coins that occupy no physical space whatsoever.
One day, there will be a Trump Presidential Library, gift shop included, no doubt. I hope Mr. Moore can visit — and shop to his heart’s content. As for me, I’ll be busy trying to declutter.
Philip Wasserman
Stevenson Ranch
