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The
following is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Label Letter
newsletter by a young high school Student in Lincoln Nebraska
by Jonna Huseman
After 911 we all went out and bought flags and flagpoles, fireworks and
“United We Stand” stickers, but our concept of patriotism has gone way out
of whack.
“While those flags, fireworks and stickers represent America, they are not
themselves American. That American flag was made in Mexico. Those fireworks
are Chinese and the stickers come from Hong Kong. The most ironic part of
this whole mess is that the U.S. is the one with the lousy economy.
“How can we say that we’re patriotic when we don’t even support our own
country and its goods? Everywhere we look, American workers are losing their
jobs because American plants and factories cannot keep up with the high
demand for cheap foreign wages.
“The worst part of this whole ordeal is that by buying foreign goods, we are
supporting the very thing our government was designed to protecct us from:
injustice and corruption. Americans seem blind to the fact that their Nike
shoes, Ralph Lauren polos and Tommy Hilfiger jeans are made in sweatshops.
“Come on, Uncle Sam, it’s time to wake up and smell the malnourished child
who made your apple pie.
“I wonder what Francis Scott Key would have to say about all this. Yes, we
do live in the land of the free, but it seems we’re not brave enough to
spend a few extra bucks for American goods so that our neighbor can buy
dinner for his American family. And, what about Patrick Henry? If he were a
true patriot, he might have said, “Buy American, or buy nothing at all..even
if it means you go around buck naked!.”
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