Nope. I am not going to do it. I’m not going to decry the rampant consumerism that overwhelms us all during this festive time of the year. That dog has been beaten to death and the fact is...I love spending money on presents, particularly on Christmas. Having worked retail frequently over the last fifteen years, I appreciate the importance of holidays to the economy and yes, focusing on the presents does diminish the meaning of this time, whether you derive your meaning from Eid, Kwanzaa, Chanukah (the spell checker caught that...way to good Mr. Gates!), or Christmas (and least I offend the pagans out there, the Winter Solstice and or Saturnalia). I do believe for the bulk of us trotting around the planet, if you celebrate this time of year, and you do give a gift, you do it out of grace.
All this said, when I do buy presents, I want to know where my stuff comes from. About half of my shopping this year is on line/catalog (I do hate the mall...years in retail). When the item is imported, if it’s not from some fancy first world country, the description of the item always says “Imported”. This PISSES me off.
Over the last three years, my wife and I decided not buy stuff from China unless we absolutely can’t find an alternative. This means, lately, we aren’t buying much stuff. When we do buy something, we need to know where it’s from otherwise, we are karmatically challenged (at the very least) and hypocrites (at the very worst). So when I see “Imported”, I gamble with my personal political and economic fidelity.
You may ask why I have it in for China. If we buy stuff from China, we support a government that systematically oppresses its people, employs unfair trade practices with us and the rest of the world (there is a 30% tariff on any US car imported to China), utilizes child and slave labor to make things, and is, by their own account, a communist country (and yes, this is open to debate...they are more a Neocon’s ideal country: make as much money as you want, keep your mouth shut, and let the smart kids run the show, and KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT).
When people find out about our little boycott, many times we’ll get “well what about those poor people you are hurting by not buying their stuff...they need to eat too”. BULLSHIT. We buy goods from China, that perpetuates the system that is not only keeping them poor (slaves...that’s pretty damn poor), but also keeps them oppressed (no motive to change if the cash keeps rolling in), and puts us in a bad way in the process (look at all the empty shoe, shirt, electronics, and textile factories around the country).
So I’m asking my dear dKos friends to help me with a little mission. Contact your newly elected DEMOCRATIC (yeah!) House Representative and/or Senator and ask him/her to sponsor a bill to provide the American people the kind of information we need to be informed consumers. If it’s imported, we need to know FROM WHERE it’s imported.
Happy Saturnalia to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT!