We've 'gone global'

Like it or not, I’m sure you’ve noticed it by now, we’ve gone global – everyone has.

American-made products are hard to find. My shirts, the labels state, were made in China, Mexico, Korea, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Indonesia. My winter vest came from Mexico and my shorts and T-shirts are from Canada and Honduras. My Hawaiian shirt was made in Korea and my Norwegian sweater now is made in China.

And there’s more: My bathrobe was made in Bulgaria; pajamas in Cambodia; pants in the Dominican Republican; shoes in China, Vietnam, and Czechoslovakia; bath towels and wash rags came from Pakistan. Grocery store item purchases include bananas from Ecuador and Guatemala, jams from Denmark, some produce from Mexico, oranges from Australia.

Computers, TVs, all kinds of electronic gear are imported from abroad. If you need help fixing glitches in computers, you’re connected with a repair specialist from India or who knows where. Thanks goodness for local repair folks. 

I’ve always bought American cars, but my current vehicle has a French name – Chevrolet! Chances are some of its components were produced overseas, too. Of course there’s a 70 percent chance that the oil and gas it uses comes from the Middle East, South America, Canada or Norway.

Fancy color covers and pages for books and magazines are often printed in China or Hong Kong or elsewhere in Asia. Prescription medications can be ordered by mail from Canada.

It’s frustrating trying to buy very many everyday items that are American-made. It’s got to be a lot more disturbing to the folks who once had jobs providing those American made goods and services.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, which no doubt originated in Antarctica, Greenland or Iceland. You can add a lot more, I’m sure. So goes life in the global age.