There is something precious about the American small town. Virtually every U.S. President was raised in, say, a Whittier or Plains. Main Street is America at its best - stoic, courteous, close to nature, and nice. Get in a car and visit a heartland pleasantville.
Life there is largely unchanged.
People still frequent picnics, tend their lawns, and go to church. What is different are the stores. Too many are empty, boarded up, desolate, or gone. As early as 1960, Hubert Humphrey foresaw the small town's conundrum. Campaigning for President, he noted how big firms were squeezing out the little merchant.