I don't remember the first time I heard about the "shopping cart test" but I do know the lesson is has stuck with me my entire life.

The shopping cart test dictates whether or not a person is capable of self-governing. Returning a shopping cart is an easy tast that we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. There are no situations other than life or death emergencies where a person is not able to return their cart. At the same time, it isn't illegal to just leave your shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot.

Therefore the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it.

There are times I do not feel like returning my cart. I could be in a hurry after a long day, it could be less-than perfect weather, I could be on the opposite end of the parking lot from a cart corral. But returning a shopping cart is what is right and makes someone else's life easy.

Apparently not everyone in Central Minnesota has that mindset, which is weird because it seems kinda opposite of our Midwest values. I have been noticing more and more "stray" carts in parking lots lately. I don't know if this is pandemic related, or if I'm just somehow noticing it now. Either way, return your dang carts people. This is a litmus test that no one should ever be failing. It takes less than a minute, and makes someone else's day easier. Get that good karma.

Signed, an Ex-Cart Wrangler at a Grocery Store.

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