It is almost impossible now to find a product made in the
United States. Most of the products we
buy from stores are made in foreign countries.
Today as I was walking down the aisles of the retail store I work for I was
stopped by an older customer. He asked
me about the quality of the tool kit we were having for sale. I answered all his questions, including the
one about the country where the tools were made. The customer responded by saying, “Nothing is
made in America anymore, all these Chinese products are inferior!” This response made me think about American
exceptionalism that lives inside of many of the conscious minds of the people I
interact with. It’s ironic that people
consider anything made in the United States superior, but to people’s dismay
most products even the ones that say made in the U.S.A are made outside of the
country. This goes to show the ignorance
of people in context of the United States compared to the rest of the world. At a young age we are told that this country
is the best, and for many this idea is engraved in their minds.
Hello Maria,
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting post, and to be honest, I think that I am guilty of having the same mindset as that older customer, although I have been raised in an entirely different time than him, meaning that I am probably more used to seeing products being made in China and abroad, but yet I still have a problem with the fact that we are not producing within our nation. I do agree that at some point it is probably rooted in an idea of American exceptionalism, but I also think that it has to do somewhat with material culture. Personally, I believe that if I am paying a substantial amount for something, that it should be made in the USA, or at least with care. I think another part of it is that we know how working conditions are in foreign countries, and how cheap labor comes there...so we subconsciously think that the product is not worth how much it retails form because "its not made in the USA."