Christmas is over, but the warm glow remains. Seeing family and friends, eating and drinking, going to church, and those presents!
Yes, those presents. I am pretty sure that nothing I gave and nothing I received was made in this country. Maybe some candy and some books, but that’s about it.
I wish I could go into a store or an online retail site and see “MADE IN THE USA” on the box or on the label or in the item description. I would gladly pay more for the privilege of buying something that my neighbor down the street or across the country has made. I know that there are artists and artisans and craftspeople in this country making all sorts of wonderful things, but how about those day-to-day items that we all need throughout the year?
When I was growing up, it was very difficult to find something that was not made in this country. Now it is very difficult to find something that is. All we do is resell what others have made.
Surely this has to bother someone other than myself?
And take a close look at what we are buying. So many of the products we import are poorly constructed and likely to end up in a landfill within a few years once they’ve stopped working or have broken just from normal use. We accept the inferior just to save a few bucks, and then end up buying the same product over and over again.
Our major retailers will explain that products MADE IN THE USA would be too expensive for most Americans to buy, particularly the lower class and much of the middle class, and that they have no choice but to import the cheapest products available just to compete and stay in business.
Unfortunately, there is some truth to this statement. When you are paid so little that you need to work two or three jobs just to make ends meet, then every dollar has to be spent to obtain the greatest short-term return.
Everything in this world is interconnected. Once we begin paying everyone a livable wage regardless of what they do, then we can all afford to buy a higher quality of goods. Once we can afford a higher quality of goods, then it makes more economic sense to make the goods in this country. We need to demand the option to buy MADE IN THE USA, and we need to choose that option whenever we can. By doing so we support our neighbors and our nation, and this should be important to all of us.
We need to begin designing and manufacturing our own products to a higher standard than what we are currently willing to buy. MADE IN THE USA should once again stand for the best design and the best utility and the best quality. Otherwise what is the point?
It is true that we now live in a world economy and need to compete in some market segments with third-world countries and third-world labor costs. This does not mean that we have to do so across the board, which seems to be where we are at right now.
Much is made these days of how important it is to be a patriot, to hold on to those traditions that made this country great, to honor our veterans and first responders who have sacrificed themselves for us.
What kind of patriots are we if we choose to buy and sell inferior imported products to each other instead of buying and selling higher-quality products that we make ourselves? What traditions do we uphold when we wave American flags that are made overseas? How do we honor those who have sacrificed themselves for the rest of us when we support the economies of other countries and not our own?
As Americans we have a choice. Are we willing to accept being second-rate and repeat the feel-good statements that pass for patriotism and do nothing other than criticize one another, or are we willing to step up and work together in order to regain our greatness? Make America Great Again should not just be a slogan on a hat but a way of life.