59 ThomasJeffersonandtheRestAreRollingInTheirGraves

Long ago and far away, there was a magical land of hopes and dreams full of people with heart and grit. They had a wonderful land, full of natural resources with plenty of room for all to work and grow. The people that lived there were from many lands and they came together with many skills and ideas and they used those ideas to become a great, powerful, independent nation. After a while, some nefarious people began to undermine the great country by buying up lands and businesses, homes and rights and selling these things to people from faraway lands that were looking for a way to make money from the people of the great land. Others found ways to profit by shuttering their businesses and paying people far away a pittance to make their products. By and by, the great country fell to its knees, its people, in ever increasing numbers, becoming destitute or just surviving, not living their old dream. The country was rotting from within, becoming a hollow shell of what it was. As the people hoped and prayed for change, their apathy and indifference prevented them from affecting their own destiny. One day, a small spark flew from the great, communal fire and began to smolder and burn. It consumed the country and all thought it was lost. But, from fire and destruction, a new hope arises. Like the often used Pheonix, the new rises from the old--new life, hope and dreams begin from the ashes of ruin.

I challenge you to pick up 5 things in your living room that were made in the USA. I can remember when I was small that "Made in China" was reserved to items from a bubble gum machine that were usually plastic or rubber and small enough to fit in a plastic "egg". I have had the final straw placed upon my back. I saw the posting from a friend about American flags being handed out that were made in China. We have become victims of our own greed, our insatiable appetite for all things cheap. Only, they aren't cheap. The more you shrug your shoulders and buy things, saying" It's cheaper and I dont feel like looking at the tag to see where it's made" you take another job from an American. You take food from the mouth of one of your countrymen and put it in the pocket of a rich person "over there". Oh, the worker that made it did not profit. They have it worse than we do here. They get paid quite meagerly and most live in deplorable conditions so that their "industrialists" and their government can profit. Their sweat only profits their bosses and the company owners and of course, the military. China's military budget could feed, clothe and house their massive population. (one-seventh of the WORLD'S population). They still control their populace like the Russian military state of not so long ago. Look at their atheletes that come here to play on our sports teams: they send much of their money to the "State".

Freedom isn't free, people. Wake UP!! Start somewhere. Make a decision that doesnt involve escapism. One that doesnt involve deciding which club to go to or what movie to go see. Decide to not buy one thing, one day a week that was not made in our country, by one of our workers. See if you can manage it. You may begin to put some integrity back in our once-proud nation.

At the risk of offending some readers, I know that many people have adopted children from China. We have children here that are in bad need of a good home. If you are kind and loving enough to want to adopt a child, start here. When all of our native children are adopted, then look elsewhere. Yes, yes, I know, red tape. Again, it is our laziness as a spoiled race that has led to this. Oh, there's still red tape, but then, China holds no value for a female unless it is to bear sons or to further the glory of the state's athletic programs. Our orphans and displaced children sit in foster homes or group homes the same as theirs, but due to government beurocracy, it's easier to adopt from overseas.

We have sat back, mildly complaining about "outsourcing". Wow. Of course some guy making 7 or 8 figures a year is going to look at paying "union" wages and benefits that total as much for one person as he could get some "manager" overseas to pay half a factory to manufacture the same product for a year. I was in a union and I have seen the upside and the down. Yes, I loved the payday but man, did I realize quick the laziness and inefficiency that it bred. I was literally told to "slow down" and "not make the older guys look bad", because I was working too hard and fast for them. I did not make that up, I was taken aside and told that I would "find myself out of a job" if I didnt work at their pace. One guy said he had "been there 30 years and I'll be damned if I have ever or will ever, work that hard". I simply stated for the wages they were paying us, I felt I should give something back. There was a sharp division between workers and management. Unions provided a real benefit for the tumultuous time they were brought to the fore. Now they have become a real, viable threat to our life and livelihood. Yes, workers were depressed and mistreated and unions helped stop that. The electronic and computer age that we are in, the instant communication and mass saturation of media has insured now that injustices will rarely slip through the cracks.

Only your fear of the unknown, the fear of not having your cell phone, your cable, your internet, your morning latte --has kept you(as a people) from making the personal and financial sacrifices necessary. I dont always buy American, but I do tend to look at the labels and if at all possible(sometimes you cant find some necessary item made here) I buy "made in U.S.". A start is a start. Try it sometime. I have preached time and time again about our failings as a people, but this one may be the worst. It will lead to our not being a country if it continues. There will always be something out there that is just not made here, we have to get it imported, say like a BMW, but then, how many cars are actually from here? Check the sticker on the door post. Ford, Chevy, Dodge, most of them say "made in Canada from U.S. parts assembled in Mexico" or some such.

Maybe it all has to crash before we can start over. Wages must go down, costs muct go down and if we cant or dont make a product here, we must find a way. Maybe we should hope for a total collapse. Nothing worth having is free, eh? No pain, no gain? I know that I am speaking of people's lives, but how can it change in a slow manner and still not be drug through the mire of corporate profiteering and greed? Not to mention the political twisting and bending that goes on, I almost forgot that one. I dont like seeing anyone suffer, well, maybe child molesters, rapists, thiefs and zealots. I hope we find a way that would prevent any unnecessary suffering by our people, but I just dont think it will happen. You may be ok now, but I fear we may see a lot more of a downturn in the near future. I try not to take too much stock in the so-called "recovery" that is supposedly going on, but I do find myself looking for signs in every news story, every article.

So, I go now, off to the solitude of the eerily- warm -for -this -time -of- year woods to sit and think about my tv(made in china), my computer keyboard(made in canada) and my work car(made in japan) while I wonder if my camo was made in bangladesh by illegal romanian workers or my boots were made in thailand by philipino slaves. All bow to the all-mighty dollar, wait, the euro, no, the yen,no the deutchmark....aw to hell with it, let's go back to the barter system....