Our founders’ dream was to live independently from the rest of the world, dependent only on ourselves and our land for day-to-day living. Early Americans were encouraged by George Washington to make everything they possibly could, and to do without the rest. While today this may be a bit extreme and even impossible(certainly most of us cannot single-handedly put together a laptop computer), it still has big implications. It certainly is a strong warning.
So what should we do? Ignite our cars, sit at home, and twiddle our thumbs? Hardly. But there are ways to conserve fuel, while at the same time benefiting ourselves and others around us. I have the acquaintance of some people who think nothing of running to the grocery store twice a day, because they forgot some certain item…and the grocery store is something like twenty miles from their home. One can’t but think that a simple list could have solved the problem. A little planning goes a long way. Consolidating trips, as my family has done recently, will help a lot. No longer do we run to the same part of the county three different days of the week. Instead, we put all of our trips into one day. Makes for a bit longer outing, but it’s better than expending big bucks in gas. I live near enough to the library I can either walk or ride my bike. It helps me stay in good physical condition, too.
There are many ways to become independent once again. Refusing to buy goods from countries that use underpaid and overworked labor sources is one (i.e., China). I’m sure you can think of others. For some, these things will be difficult, perhaps. But really, how hard is it to read the label on the shirt (or whatever else) you’re buying?.
Let me encourage you to pick up the founders’ dream, so that once again America will be – beholden to no man.
Some of this is easy and it should be done. You’re right a shopping list helps and being fuel efficient is come. Little changes by a lot of people make a big difference.
Some things like not buying Chinese won’t really change anything. Our current world is very interconnected as we import a lot and the change in America’s import policy won’t come by several microchanges.
Mr. Graham,
If you look at how much we buy from China, and then look at their armed forces, I think you would see the purpose in not buying items made there. If americans stopped buying Chinese products (by this I do not mean chinese food, that can be an american product), not only would the cost of high quality products go down, but the national debt (well over $75,000,000,000,000) would start to see a decline in the rapidity of its growth. A list a few of the things made there would include: computer parts (ATI & V-Vidia video cards (among others), most motherboards, modems, RAM), car parts (radios, spark plugs, cables), furniture (see Wal-Mart’s, Home Depot, etc.), toys (R/C Cars, action fugures, Matchbox/Hot Wheels & imitations), Paper products (i.e. Mead notebooks), most other electronics around the house (phones, answering machines, clocks), tools (Rigid, Yard-man/Simplicity & other MTD brands), pens/pencils (BIC, pentel, papermate (some are made in Japan, but most are made in China)).
There are some brands that are mostly made in the USA like Vaughan, Stanley, John Deere, etc. (all of which pay the federal government, which lightens the load on us, if the spendthrifts, Democrat, Republical, Libertarian, or whatever their political affiliation, are taken out of government), so not buying from China is very feasible, IF we will watch what we buy and do without luxuries made only in China.
Actually, not buying from China would probably hurt us economically. If you think about it, all the money that we pay into China will eventually be paid out of it. At some point, it will come back to us. And if we were to stop buying from China, our businesses would no longer have to compete with them, so prices would go up and quality would go down. These principles go for any country. For that reason, it is not advantageous to be self-sufficient, as suggested in the article.
When American businesses thrive, it creates more jobs, and therefore more money. I’m no economic expert, but isn’t it more advantageous to help out American businesses than Chinese? Besides the obvious fact that the Communist Chinese probably own every business in their country, and therefore we are paying into the Chinese government, which is the supporter of murder, tyranny, and every other evil thing.
My point is that giving business to China is actually advanyageous American businesses. That is why we’re not boycotting China for human rights abuses etc.
There are plenty of other countries to buy from. Why support the biggest Communist country in the world when we would buy from struggling democracies/republics?
I agree… and their products would probably be just as good.
Stopping from buying from China right now would hurt our economy. Wal*Mart, it is true, does get things from China and other countries, but by doing that they are boycotting unions, and I believe that unions are one of the things most harmful to us right now.