made in America
It's an interesting new, interconnected world that I have appreciated as I've watched it evolve over recent years, much due to the internet; including the interdependence of it that makes nations at least a bit less likely to go to war with each other because, even if their leaders like to politicize and posture, the populations depend on being able to do business with each other.
This is a ridiculous example, but we went on Amazon and searched for a hat for Malinda, and ended up ordering two. Cute little baseball style caps with embroidered flower designs. Days, weeks, over a month went by and no hats arrived. I decided I'd been hornswoggled and no hats would be coming. But in Time a package arrived. I don't remember where it was from, but it had a hat. Just one hat. "So, I'm like," okay, maybe the second hat will arrive in due course.
Yesterday the second hat arrived. From a different company even though I'd ordered from the same website. And this one was shipped from Ukraine. Considering the long lead Time, I guess by surface ship?, IDK. Of course, this cute little hat that came from Ukraine is labeled "made in China". A colleague has a Buick that was made in China. I once had a Buick that was made in Germany. This laptop I'm typing on claims to have been made in China. If I call to ask a question about Linda's new refrigerator, the customer service person speaks, politely and helpfully, with the English of someone who lives in India or Pakistan.
Most of my little 1/43 scale model Chrysler and DeSoto cars were made in Portugal, but one was made in England. I have a new Bible, a TANAKH, that was shipped to me from Israel; as I flip through it, from "back" to "front", each left page is in Hebrew and the right in English. The black trousers I wore to church last night were made in Malaysia, but the matching black jacket was made in Honduras. The red plastic clock here on my desk was made in China. The cube clock combination that my mother gave me, and that is therefore one of my treasures, came from Oregon, but the clock in one face of it was made in Taiwan, while the hygrometer, thermometer, and barometer were made in France. The PCNH that was outside 7H door this morning apparently was printed either in Gainesville or somewhere in Mississippi.
Linda's microwave was made in Malaysia, her previous range and refrigerator in South Korea.
My prayer shawl came from Israel, but my CD player that I bought for watching movies on my laptop, and my thumb drives, were made in China. My new hearing aids from the VA were made in Denmark. The coffee cup I'm drinking from this morning, made in China. My 1947 Kaiser toy cars are stamped "United States of America" and my 1948 scale model Dodge sedan was cast in Chicago. My blue plastic ruler with inches on one edge and mm on the other edge: China. The shears that I just bought, rated Best, for splaying the Christmas turkey: made in China.
My bottle of nose-spray was made in Canada, as was a significant part of my sixteen year old Cadillac car. I think Linda's car was made in either Mexico or Canada. For the past thirty years I've worn only SAS shoes, which, you could fool me, I think are made in San Antonio, Texas, GOK where the leather is sourced from. But my heavy L L Bean shirt that doubles for a jacket is labeled Made in Sri Lanka.
My model twin-masted schooner Annie & Jennie was made by my son Joe at home in Winston-Salem, NC, but he built it from a kit box of sticks and GOK where the box was made, or where the trees were grown from which the sticks were cut. Speaking of Joe, the bottle of Bushmills he brought me from Ireland, the whiskey was distilled in Ireland, but its glass bottle? IDK, the bottle doesn't say, is there glass bottle manufacturing in Ireland?
My bottle of Laphroaig came from Scotland, the NA beer I bought at The Carousel was produced in Germany, and the bottles on my wine rack came variously from France, Italy, Australia, California. My regular beer is from Italy and the Czech Republic. My gin is from England, the dry vermouth for my Sunday after church martini is from Italy, but the vodka I sometimes use is from Poland, although the last bottle of vodka was from Latvia; the olives for my martinis are from Spain. An XMAS gift for Tass that just arrived this morning is labeled Made in China. My wife is from Birmingham, Alabama, finding the perfect Southern girl who says "y'all" but not "he don't" or "me and him" or "him and me" was vital to me.
My drawer in the refrigerator has cheeses from France, Wisconsin, Germany, Turkey, Spain, England; my strawberry preserves are from France (excellent) and Turkey (tasty but runny). My sardines are from Italy and my anchovies are from Spain; the mustards I smear on my sardines are from England, Germany, and Maryland USA. I have chocolate from Belgium, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, England, and Scotland.
For incontestable strategic reasons of national defense policy, Australia has switched from French conventional submarines to American nuclear subs.
International economic interdependence is a key to vital national interest. We can take a nationalistic posture and jingoistic political stances, but we are in a global society, and for the increasing wellbeing of the world and its people, might press for more international cooperation, eventually needing to spend less on national defense so that we can keep more ourselves or, ideally, divert spending to human wellbeing at home and throughout the world.
Sunset
and Sunrise,
another night.
T