JulieLeung.com: a life told in tidepools

The other day we received an invitation from Chrysler to join their “neighborhood” by showing up at Six Flags in Illinois to hang out with others who own Chrysler cars. Do I have more in common with someone who owns the same car than I do with someone on my block? Does the car make the man – or the minivan make the mom? I found this use of the word “neighborhood” curious. As if I would want to get to know other car owners more than the family who shares the fence with us. Or as if I would have a closer community with other Chrysler drivers than with people who live on the same street. Are we lacking the proper vocabulary to express the relationships we build through purchasing products? Or is it that neighborhood is an economic one that transcends geography, not necessarily defined by a home’s location, but by choices made with money? Or is it that we are isolated and lonely enough as a culture to want to connect with others half-way across the continent through our common car? Maybe it’s only a marketing gimmick. But as I ‘m thinking about it, I’m realizing that our purchasing decision was based on a few factors, including the size of our family. Now I’m starting to wonder: perhaps if we did show up at this event, we would find other families like ours…or maybe not….