Bye-Bye Buy-American says Boomer
Dave Demko
AgeVenture News Service
Be American, Buy American. Be American, Buy American. Yep, the melodious chant echoed and re-echoed through my mind like one of those old Chain Gang work songs. Only I wasn't on a Chain Gang, I was trying to get my American-made lawn mower started so I could cut the grass. I guess the Be American, Buy American crossed my mind because my NEW lawn mower refused to start even though I'd yanked and yanked that "pull-cord" a dozen times. Not unusual, you say? Not in my case. As I glanced at the mute, unresponsive hunk of American technology, the bold words, neatly painted across the mower's engine base appeared to mock me. "ONE PULL START" the letters read. One-pull-start. Yep, I had insisted on buying a lawn mower that would start right up with just one yank of the pull-cord. So I told the salesman, "That's the one I want." And I paid handsomely for the privilege of joining the ranks of those upper-crust-mower-mavens who, with a once-only flick of their mower's cord, are immediately transported to grass-cutting bliss. No such luck.
You might call me a whiner, except for the fact that my two months old ONE-PULL-START mower had a second problem. The gear-shifter that engages the SELF-PROPELLED drive-wheels (so the user doesn't have to PUSH the mower) had cracked and broken off weeks ago.
As I stood in my driveway yanking the cord to my ONE-PULL-START (that didn't) on my SELF-PROPELLED mower (that couldn't), all I could think about was how stupid I'd been to have once again fallen for that guilt-inducing marketing ploy, "BE AMERICAN. BUY AMERICAN." Well, I did. I bought American and paid for it. First at the store. Then in my driveway every Saturday morning as I tried to start my mower.
Let's get real, America. We have to stop whining about Americans choosing products made by foreign competitors. If our nation wants to stay competitive, we have to care about quality. And quite frankly the quality of (not all, but) too many American-Made products just doesn't exist. Sorry, if the truth hurts. But doesn't the first rule of self-improvement have something to do with admitting our mistakes. Just like the hugely successful Alcoholics Anonymous, maybe American industries have to stand up and say, "My name is Corporate American, and my work sucks". Admit it. Improve. And move on. I no longer plan to blindly Buy American. My consumer loyalty has been betrayed too many times before. Perhaps the trend toward a global economy is the best thing that could happen to America. Let the games begin. Let the competition start. And may that competitive process help make us better. Better at are jobs. Better at our workmanship. Just plain better.
Oh, by the way, puh-leese, don't send me letters about how terrible I am for criticizing American products. Besides, I won't have time to read'em. I'll be too busy. PULL'N and PUSH'N my mower. As far as nation-brand loyalty goes, it's time to say "Bye-Bye Buy-American".
David Demko reports on lifestyle issues and trends in Aging America.
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