Buy American

A good friend forwarded me the email quoted below. Now those who know me well know how I feel about the whole "viral email" phenomenon. The main problem I see is that the "facts" in those emails are often sketchy at best. I have not done even the basic Snopes search of the claims in the email. But given the current economic climate, I think it is worth a thinking about. I'll share some thoughts at the end.

The findings are as follows..... 1. Ford- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number plus 10 Excursions to NY Fire Dept. The company also offered ER response team service s and office space to displaced government employees. 2. GM- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number and a fleet of vans, suv's, and trucks. 3. Daimler Chrysler- $10 million to support of the children and victims of the Sept. 11 attack. 4. Harley Davidson motorcycles- $1 million and 30 new motorcycles to the New York Police Dept. 5. Volkswagen-Employees and management created a Sept 11 Foundation, funded initial with $2 million, for the assistance of the children and victims of the WTC. 6. Hyundai- $300,000 to the American Red Cross. 7. Audi-Nothing. 8. BMW-Nothing. 9. Daewoo- Nothing. 10. Fiat-Nothing. 11. Honda- Nothing despite boasting of second best sales month ever in August 2001 12. Isuzu- Nothing. 13. Mitsubishi-Nothing. 14. Nissan-Nothing. ; 15. Porsche-Nothing.20 Press release with condolences via the Porsche website. 16. Subaru- Nothing. 17. Suzuki- Nothing. 18. Toyota-Nothing despite claims of high sales in July and August 2001. Condolences posted on the website Whenever the time may be for you to purchase or lease a new vehicle, keep this information in mind. You might want to give more consideration to a car manufactured by an American-owned and / or American based company. Apart from Hyundai and Volkswagen, the foreign car companies contributed nothing at all to the citizens of the United States . It's OK for these companies to take money out of this country, but it is apparently not acceptable to return some in a time of crisis. I believe we should not forget things like this. Say thank you in a way that gets their attention..

For me, the point is not whether the facts are accurate. It is also not that foreign car companies should have done something for America following 9/11. They would no doubt say that they have their own problems and American companies are not starting foundations in -- for example -- Korea to help with whatever their problems may be.

The point, at least for me is this: We have a choice. Yeah, you say, so what?

We are in serious economic times. I don't think that American consumers can buy us out of this problem, some would argue that rampant consumerism helped get us into this mess in the first place. But if you are buying a car, or bottled water, or a t-shirt, shouldn't you think about buying from an American manufacturer first. Better yet, one that is local to you if you have the chance.