WAKE UP AMERICA

Millions of US soldiers have died throughout the decades defending our country in order to ensure the safety and freedom of it's citizen's. Between March of 2003 and September of 2009, in the Iraq war alone, 4,662 soldiers have died, and 31,494 have been wounded. What are we doing within our borders, as Americans, to show these men and women whose life are at risk every day at the hands of war, that this country is worth fighting for?

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard someone that is getting ready to make large purchase say "We don't care where it's made...We just want the best deal at the best price". Well, I can understand wanting the "best deal at the best price", but the "We don't care where it's made" statement is a real slap in the face. I thought it was common sense that buying products "Made in the USA" strengthens the economy and lowers unemployment rates. Do people not know this...or do they just not care?

I understand that some families are in an economic situation where they have no choice but to buy the cheapest goods in order to make ends meet, but why are those of you who have the extra $100's in the bank choosing to buy imported goods rather than those manufactured in our own country? Wal-Mart and their plasma TV's is an excellent example. In my opinion, anyone who is financially stable enough to purchase a luxury item, such as a $600 television, can certainly afford to spend a bit more to buy one that is made in the USA.

Wal-Mart is the single largest importer of foreign made goods. That means very little goods available at Wal-Mart are "Made in the USA". I have checked labels, in our local store, and other than cosmetics you will be lucky to find many American made products. I am in the the "make ends meet" category, so don't think to yourself that I should practice what I preach if you see me in Wal-Mart buying toilet paper. I do buy product that are made in the USA whenever possible.

I am no racist nor do I have anything against other countries...I just like my country better. I worry that when the war is over, and the ones who survive return home to their families, there will be no jobs for them. Or that a soldier who witnessed other soldiers dying for this country might hear someone say "Who cares where it was made." Do we still still love this country? Are we more concerned with the biggest bang for our buck rather than the legacy we leave for our children? I pray this is not the case and that American's start to defend the land in which they wake up in every morning.