Buy American (If You Feel Like It)

So we have been urged to buy American to help our compatriots out in these troubled economic times.

I've never gotten the "buy American" thing. Why does a struggling American businessman deserve my money more than a struggling Japanese businessman? I don't get the "buy local" thing, either. Why should I support local farmers more than farmers somewhere else?

I felt the same way back when everyone was griping about outsourcing, grumbling that foreigners were "taking our jobs." They're not our jobs. They belong to whoever balances their own need for a living with an employer's need for someone competent.

I fervently believe that free trade will bring the best for everyone involved. The entire world is going through a rough patch, not just us, and this is no time to hunker in on ourselves. It's not that I'm not proud of being American, but I don't think pride in your own country requires you to see the rest of the world as Them in a bitter, impersonal game of Us vs. Them.

So buy high quality. Buy inexpensive. Think of it as giving peace a chance.