"Proudly Made in the USA" -- is this only a DREAM?

Ok, I am all up for "free-trade" and an open-market, but really, I have to be very honest, I am just sick to death of seeing EVERYTHING that I touch in a store made EVERYWHERE ELSE -- but the United States. I'm really angry that I have NO CHOICES anymore.

If I go into Elder-Beerman, J.C. Penney's, Fashion Bug, Sears, anywhere... it's ALL made somewhere else. Now, having said that, I am careful how I spend my money, and I will duck into Wal-mart or Sam's Club for basics, but let's "get real" here: (Forgive me Dr. Phil, but that is a great expression!) Sam Walton FOUNDED his company on the "American made" concept, or so I thought!

Why is nearly everything in his stores (God rest his soul) now made in: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Guatalahara, China, Guatamala, or... "where ever"? And, that list just goes on and on.

THINK ABOUT IT:
Ok, so you need a dish rag or a bath towel, right? You buy the darned thing at like "10 dish cloths (or wash cloths) for $5.00" but the darned things unravel and fall apart in no time at all. They look good (albeit "flimsy"), and they may last for like a month or something -- but what's with that? Why even bother anymore? They have to be replaced all too often, and that's using a washing machine on a delicate cycle in cold water! Back in the old days, women used to use washboards, and our stuff held up over time!

Now, this latest TRAGEDY (and SHAME ON THE U.S.) is all of the CRAP that is coming in from China. Look at the toys that are poisoning our CHILDREN! Doesn't anyone care anymore? Apparently not as long as that stock is up on the trading floor. We Americans are to blame! We wanted a cost-savings, and we have risked our children's health... and their futures... and OUR ECONOMY to get it (my granma used to say "Be careful what you ask for!"). Yes, we are further paying the price by losing our jobs, but it's all Past Tense and it's all done, now, isn't it? Once the mills have closed up they aren't just going to magically re-open in a week.

We've lost so much ground -- even here in my small town. Here, we used to have The U.S. Shoe Corporation, WearEver, but this city's industrial/manufacturing base is just barely hanging in there. Mead/MeadWestVaco has been bought/sold or renamed countless times; Kenworth is still here (thank God!), but too frequently they undergo "layoffs." Our unemployment rates in this area: Ross, Pike, and Vinton counties are some of the highest in the state. RCA/Thompson Consumer Electronics is gone from Pickaway county, and their building remains vacant, and partially torn down, but in favor of what? DuPont is still around, though, I think.

But "we" don't care, now, do we? As long as we import those video games, we are content to sit at home satisfied that "we got it on sale" and, worse, we unwind from a long day at work from a service/retail-based job (this information is specific to my county, where wages are ridiculously low all while we are eating junk/fast food)... and the beat goes on. God! Even our food supply is at risk! APPLE JUICE (bought at Wal-Mart) IS IMPORTED FROM CHINA/GUATALMALA! What's wrong with that? Oh, look at the Chinese and what they serve their OWN people! Most recently in the news: CARDBOARD! (Time & CNN). Now, what about the tainted fish, which was in the news not that long ago? (USAToday). Why NOT buy Chinese (and other) substandard food/products? We've already proved we will settle for ANYTHING!

We get our jeans from Walmart, where they were imported from Pakistan, and we've become complacent... but, hey, "WE GOT A GOOD DEAL!"

I digress... excuse me, but, IT IS TIME TO TAKE BACK WHAT IS OURS! I have decided that I am NOT going to compromise my position anymore. I WANT and I NEED "quality American-made products" -- and I will search to high heaven, if I need to, to find them.

It's not hard, thanks to Google or Yahoo. Come on, let's not settle for second-rate merchandise (at best!). Let's not let our economy go any further down the sewer lines... our unemployment rates are way too high and our jobs ARE going overseas, but what are we going to do about it?

When I call a business, an American-based business, I FULLY EXPECT MY ACCOUNT TO BE SERVICED IN ENGLISH! I am an English teacher, and I do not have a bias against foreign nationals, at all! I have many, many friends from the far corners of the world, but THEY LEARNED to speak the language, properly, when they chose to move here!

Fellow Americans, we HAVE BEEN "sold out", and WE have "sold out" by not speaking up and BY ALLOWING "our corporations" to "shop for cheaper labor" -- all to save a few dollars in the short-term? Is it too late to recover from this madness?

It's just wrong. All of it. Why are we building up other countries and creating new business relationships overseas? Why are WE UN-employed / UNDER-employed? Why are WE without health insurance? What are OUR children doing without? How is "the Middle Class American" receiving any benefit, other than getting a good price on whatever gadget is currently in vogue? I've had enough! Have you?

Stop the madness. FIND and BUY the "American-made product" -- and let's get this country back to where we used to be -- one step at a time, one day at a time, one product at a time, and it all begins with you and how you choose to spend YOUR MONEY.

A SUGGESTION:
Return the imports and ask for a refund, EXPLAIN WHY, and then, go to one of the websites below, or conduct your own searches, and resolve to buy American-made!

EXAMPLE:
After the birth of my second daughter, I needed some new clothes that would fit, but yet look nice (not always synonymous, let me tell you). I want my clothes to last, and I demand QUALITY WELL-MADE items. Have you ever really looked at "the stuff" on the rack in the stores? Even the nicer stores offer the same imported "crap." Check out the seams, and you will see "the imported stuff" has ravelings, shoddy workmanship, second-rate material, and these products too frequently have loose threads, flimsy fabric, and not all that long ago, fabrics that were imported from India made the news for catching on fire way too easily!

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
Yesterday, I returned the shirts that I had purchased from J.C. Penney, and when the clerk asked me the reason for a return, I told her, ""Really, four shirts for less than $50 is a fair price, but to be brutally honest, they are "Made in Vietnam" and I WANT to buy American made items. I should have checked the tag, honestly, before I bought them, but with a fussy two month old baby in tow, I was in a hurry." Maybe if the shop-keepers keep getting that message, maybe, just maybe, management will listen. Regardless, from here on out, I'm buying American!

Today, I needed some new clothes for work, and I found some here at American Apparel. I took my immediate refund from Penney's, and I will apply it to my online order of shirts that are coming in "Next Day Delivery" from American Apparel. I can't wait to get this first order!

GETTING STARTED:
Look into the websites I've presented below, which are listings of "American-made" online stores... and let's take "Proudly Made in the USA" back to more than just a dream and an archaic phrase that advertisers haven't worked in years! Let's make all of this a reality!

BETTER YET!
Guess what? I'm saving gas money by not having to travel all around town looking for American-made items that just can't be found in my city anymore, and I am saving a ton of time, too.

WEBSITES THAT CAN MAKE YOUR SEARCH JUST A LITTLE EASIER:

1. Made in the USA

2. The Union Shop

3. Still Made in the USA

Are ya with me?