Made in China (where else?)

Several months ago I bought a new pair of boots - Tony Lama's to be exact. I've always wanted a pair of good boots - Dan Post, Tony Lama, Lucchese etc. and finally! Found them on sale at a local feed/hardware/clothing store for only $40. When I bought them I tried to ask (half-jokingly) if they could be discounted even more since they were the last pair in this size and style but the counter-girl told me they were already below their cost as it was and she doubted Roger (the manager) would accept any less. A good deal is a good deal so I paid my $40 and left. I've been wearing them ever since and let me tell you - a good boot beats a cheap boot anytime. In my life I've owned three pair and the first two were what I could afford and my feet paid the price!

My point here is something else. Saturday night we were heading out to a local junior rodeo to watch a neighbor/friend compete in the bull-riding. As I was pulling on my boots (can't wear any other kind of footwear to a rodeo can you?) and I noticed the words "Made in China" stamped inside the leg.

What a disappointment! I accept that my Hanes underwear is no longer made in North Carolina. My Wrangler jeans come from Guatemala or somewhere in South America probably. But boots? I'm from Texas and I just expected that most good cowboy boots came from Texas or Wyoming or someplace with lots of cows and the need to wear boots.

But China? As a co-worker used to say: "Say it ain't so!"

I've nothing specifically against the people of China per se but I do have a problem that so much of our stuff comes from China. Poor Kathy Lee Gifford got into all sorts of trouble when she/we learned that some of her clothing line was made in a sweat-shop. We try our best to buy fair-trade coffee. We're glad that Ben and Jerry's buy their dairy products for Chunky Monkey from local U.S. farmers at fair prices.

For some reason we turn a blind eye to things from China. And for the most part we have no choice. I have a friend who was a vegetarian and he wouldn't buy or wear anything that had leather. Now that's not for me but I respected him for his choices and the difficulties it presented. Try going into a store and finding items to buy that are NOT made in China.

And for crying out loud - Beijing Olympics in 2008?! Remember folks we boy-cotted the 1980 Olympics in the then Soviet Union because they had invaded Afghanistan in 1979. And that statement alone is worth a lot of blogging but not tonite!

This is all about greed. We have embargoes and what-not with Cuba. It's communist right? And it would be wrong to allow our hard-earned U.S. dinero to help prop us the communist government of el jefe Fidel.

But corporations have been falling all over themselves to negotiate to trade with China. And I don't pretend to understand protectionism and everything else that people DO complain about in our trade relationship with China. What I do understand is that we seem to go out of our way to help them sell their stuff in the U.S. but when it comes time for us to do business over there, it is a tougher sell. I know I'm getting off-track here so I'll veer back in the right direction.

China has more than a billion people. Cuba has maybe what ... slightly over 11 million according to Wikipedia. There's the answer. It doesn't cost us anything to not do business with Cuba. But all the big U.S. corporations want/must do business in China.

I wish there was a better way.