I am a 23 year old essentially Liberal male.  White, long hair; 20 years ago I would have been called a hippy.  To some extent, I do fit that, but I am digressing.  Here goes. I don’t love what this country is; but I do love what it is supposed to be. Right off I will begin making a point that will invite a lot of criticism, but I find to be very true.  Let us start by my mangling an old saying:

Michael is woken up in the morning by his alarm clock, made in Taiwan.
Michael makes breakfast on a stove assembled in Mexico.
Michael turns on his TV, made in Japan, and watches a little TV.
He then gets up, puts on some clothing made in Indonesia.
Then Michael gets into his car... made in Germany.. And goes out to do his daily errands.
Michael is unemployed, and wonders why he cannot find a good job in America.

I will begin by saying that everyone knows what point this is trying to make.  That if you do not buy American goods, there will be no American jobs.  I say that this is _horseshit_ on so many levels that it is ridiculous.

I am typing on a computer assembled in Japan, with Japanese technology.  My processor in the computer was developed in the United Kingdom.  My video game system is Japanese.  The cartoon show on my Korean TV is also Japanese.  My stereo, not of the highest quality, was assembled in Mexico.  In fact, looking in my immediate area, the only thing I see that is American made is a 93 Ford Escort that has never performed up to the promised standards and has spent it’s entire life in and out of the shop every three months.  Oh and the dormitory around me was built by Americans too.  The walls are shoddily plastered, thin as paper, and all the finishings and door hangings show shoddy worksmanship.  Pieces of this dormitory are replaced regularly.. And the dorm is only THREE YEARS OLD.

So we come to the point here.  Why do I not buy American?  Because I have seen very few products that are American made that are worth even half the money they cost.  Especially products that appeal to my generation.  Cars... my girlfriend’s 1992 Toyota Celica runs perfectly, and it has been in the shop three times.  One of those times was just to replace the air conditioning.  The Escort that belongs to my friend?  Well, I’ve already told about this.  Televisions, I am not even sure there ARE any American made televisions.  Magnavox, I believe?  Sure, I’ll just pull out $400 and get something that is just barely equal to the $150 Sony.  Video game systems.... that is downright laughable.  The last American made video game system was the Atari Jaguar.  The controller looked like it was designed for people with three hands, and their advertising campaign involved a very ugly bulldog slobbering all over the place.  Stereo Systems.... give me a Sanyo or a Sony any day over the Sears brand, whatever they are calling it this week.  (Which was made in Mexico anyway.)  The only American things I ever buy... and I swear by them to this day, are the steel toed leather boots made by Payless, and any firearm made by Colt.

It strikes me as an odd coincidence that the only American made items that seem to be worth a damn are primarily for use in combat.

And why are these American items so worthless?  Here it comes and the part that will get me flamed beyond belief.

85% of American “workers” are lazy fuck-offs.  If you honestly think about it, they are.  I have had jobs in a decent number of industries in my life, and in my experience, it has always been 2 or three people doing all the work, while the rest mess around, steal things, and try their hardest to squeeze as much break time out as possible.  Not only this, but the majority also think it is entertaining to slow everyone else down.

This has been INTENSE at both of the Union jobs I have had.  You can usually tell who the laziest, most dishonest bastard is by finding out who has filed the most union grievances.  The unions were once to get fair working conditions for the workers.  Now (at least in the railroad and cross-city trucking industries) Unions are more about filing lawsuits and threatening the management then about actually helping the workers.  I quit the rail job because the union went on strike.  Why did our Union over at the Santa Fe Railyard near Chicago go on strike?  Because one of the employees, the Union Steward, was going to be fired because he was caught having sex with a 15 year old in a company truck when he was supposed to be checking seals on trucks.

This incredibly disgusting lack of ethic is very common in the American workplace.  This translates to the quality of American goods and why they cost so much.  When workers do slipshod work, and take longer to get it done, you are by proxy paying more for lesser quality goods.

As for the part about Michael not being able to find good work in America?
That is absolutely, stunningly and embarrassingly full of bullshit.  I have to go out of my WAY to be unemployed in this lovely Clinton economy... which will bounce back no matter what the Head Chimp does.  You know why this is?
Because I am not ashamed to get my hands dirty.  I have been so poor that I have had to wear a gas mask and spray out chemical trucks for a measly $6.00 an hour.  It’s not much, but it’s better than unemployment, because I can continue to have some pride in myself, be able to look in the mirror and not feel ashamed.  Michael remains unemployed because he is afraid to get his hands dirty and expects to find a cushy job right off.  I am on my way to a good computer repair job... thanks to Job Corps (a lovely program that helps poor youth... which almost did not take me because they think Dubya is going to try to shut em down)  But I have worked hard to get here, my hands are rough and calloused.  I forever will have a look in my eyes that shows the kind of life I have had to lead.

But not all poor people are good, salt of the earth hard workers. Many folk just as poor as me will stay poor forever because they are not willing to WORK for anything.  I find it small irony that most of these people, screaming about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, all while being useless at work and wondering why they are not promoted.... even blaming affirmative action for why their lazy asses are not promoted, are Republicans.  Sitting at work screaming about how Clinton ruined this country for hard working Americans... while drinking beer at work.
On the other end of the spectrum, some folk seem to be just as lazy on the wealthy end.  Thanks to my past; I cannot completely fit with the other computer techs.  No matter how hard I try, I will never be able to get all the blue out of my collar now matter how much bleach I use.  But maybe this is not a bad thing.  I cannot handle what they consider to be pleasurable; cocaine is not my idea of a good time.  Golf is not my idea of a good time.
Sitting around bitching about how Affirmative Action and “high” taxes on the rich are ruining this country.  I hope I do not become like these people once this becomes paying work instead of internship.

Oh, and yes these people are fucking off at work.  They snort up during lunches, and drag out their breaks.  These people cut every corner possible, and even do repairs half-assed just so that the customer will have to come back again.  And can you guess what we listen to every afternoon come 11am?

That’s right, Captain Oink.  There is one other person who also works hard.
Though I personally think he is a frickin jackass and would never even consider hanging around with him outside of work, I find this interesting: He, too, votes Democratic.

Could it be that this is a common thing, that the liberals work hard while the conservatives sit around and bitch and moan and grab each other’s asses?  In my experience, it truly seems to be that the party of “Honest American Values” actually seems to be the party of “Being lazy and blaming it on others, while grabbing as much as you can for yourself.”

So, in conclusion, American goods suck, and the majority of American workers don’t WANT to do quality work.

That’s why I don’t buy American.  I don’t want to buy half quality goods, and support workers that won’t work.  I would rather some Chinese family get barely enough money to feed their family by working as hard as humanly possible, then support some lazy beer-swilling piece of trash who hasn’t had a day of honest work in his whole life.
 

Next time I attack religion,
but not QUITE in the angle you’d initially think.

E-mail me at  soheifox@hotmail.com