Buy American?
By John W. Kennedy | April 10, 2008
The spate of news reports about unsafe foreign products, from shrimp to toys, seems to have abated.
I’ve been trying to avoid many overseas products for a variety of reasons, including economic imbalance: it seems as though Americans are sending their entire paychecks over there.
I’m not alone in this feeling. In 2000, two-thirds of Americans believed the United States was the world’s leading economic power, according to a Gallup poll. Now only one-third think so.
It didn’t used to be that way. Not that many years ago, Wal-Mart rolled out a patriotic “Buy American” campaign touting its goods. Of course Wal-Mart and virtually every other mass retailer now imports most products from overseas because that is the way to stay in business.
Retailers, faced with the choice of buying from an American company that must pay its employees generous benefits or from an overseas firm that thrives on cheap labor, will choose the latter to remain competitive. And U.S. consumers willingly comply.
It’s not just discount stores. The other day I went into a hobby craft chain and started examining labels. After discovering that the first 15 products I checked out were manufactured elsewhere I stopped counting. Recently I saw a report that nearly 90 percent of shoes that Americans wear are from Asia. I used to like to buy my wife clothes at a fashionable women’s clothing chain. But now more than half the merchandise originates from Asian nations—and it’s not inexpensive.
I’m no xenophobe. But down the line, when all our jobs have been exported for the sake of low-cost consumer goods, there will be a steeper price to pay.
I had to chuckle during a recent vacation to Sedona, Ariz., a town that so typifies the American Old West that it has been the site of more than 40 Hollywood movies. As I walked around the tourist shops I found it amusing that virtually all the relics being sold—including cowboy hats and cowboy boots—were made outside the United States.
Finally my wife and I came upon a small shop with the curious name “Made in Sedona.” It turned out that the 50-something woman who ran the shop makes all the clothes herself and is open for business six days a week. I had to admire her pluck. We bought several skirts and tops, and left with a guarantee that we could exchange anything that didn’t meet expectations.
Topics: consumerism | No Comments »
Mom at 90
By John W. Kennedy | April 3, 2008
My mother, Mescal, turns 90 on Saturday. She says she just as soon would not have the distinction of being the oldest person ever in our family (Aunt Lois died at 91 a few years ago). But, despite a broken hip over the winter, my mom’s doctor believes she could live to be 100 because she’s in generally good health.
The broken hip slowed her down. But after being in a hospital, rehabilitation center and nursing home for more than two months, she’s back at her assisted-living facility. She now must use a walker to get around, but she’s able to go to the complex dining room for three meals a day and keep in touch with friends by e-mail.
It’s amazing that my mother was around during World War I, prior to the enactment of Prohibition and even before the advent of radio programming.
But according to a recent Boston University study, living to the century mark isn’t that unusual anymore. The university’s School of Medicine even has a Web site dedicated to checking out your odds of making it to the milestone. Indeed, the U.S. Census Bureau now says the 85 and older crowd is the fastest-growing segment of senior adults.
I’m grateful for the medical technology advances of the past century. My mother’s dad died at 49; my father’s mom died at 42. I’ve already passed them both in longevity.
Topics: aging | 2 Comments »
Denigrating the Candidates
By John W. Kennedy | March 31, 2008
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain are the sole survivors in the intense public scrutiny to vie for the role as the next president of the United States. En route, various media outlets have hailed one of those three candidates as the only great hope this nation has to turn the nation around in 2009.
But the election is a long way off. Lately I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. Daily I read or listen to reports about how each of the frontrunners is messing up. Every statement made by the contenders is dissected by bloggers, cable news pundits and ideological columnists.
The candidates should have said this or shouldn’t have said that. They should have denounced someone quicker. They shouldn’t have responded to the personal attack statement in response to another personal attack statement.
Given a daily dose of discouraging news, there won’t be much to like about these candidates once November rolls around for anybody trying to keep up on the issues. I’m a fairly skeptical guy when it comes to politics, but apparently the mainstream media is even more cynical. Reading reports about these three candidates makes me pine for the days of corruption-free politics of Warren Harding.
Topics: Politics | No Comments »
Rapidly Changing Technology
By John W. Kennedy | March 27, 2008
I continue to be amazed at the rapidly changing times in which we live. Technology is turning how we live and work upside down. TPE is trying with its variety of staff blogs and podcasts that tie in with the weekly periodical that has been published for 95 years.
A Pew Research Center study last week reported that a majority of both national and local journalists believe finances are the most important problem facing news organizations. The specific challenge of trying to make a profit from Web journalism is a key concern for those working in print media.
While most journalists think Internet-driven innovations such as blog comment posts, video streaming and news aggregating sites have benefited the state of journalism, economic realities are striking. There have been staff layoffs at more than 80 percent of local newspapers in the past three years.
Of course it’s not just journalism taking a hit. Bookstores, travel agents, video rental stores and real estate firms, to name a few, have been profoundly impacted by the Internet. Consumers looking for music, books, flights and property have discovered they can bypass the retail giants and professionals, finding what they need online by themselves.
I’ve noticed this the past couple of times I’ve visited the local massive Border’s store. The chain has turned out book titles facing frontward in an effort to drum up business. It doesn’t seem to have much impact. Only one cashier is needed because the customers are so sparse.
The challenge for booksellers, real estate agents, magazines and others is to adapt to the changing times. Border’s tries to entice me with a 30 percent off coupon every week. For now, that keeps me coming back.
Topics: technology | 1 Comment »
Remembering a Warrior Turned Missionary
By John W. Kennedy | March 26, 2008
Jacob DeShazer died recently at the age of 95, finishing a life on earth that had been filled with the horrors of war as well as the blessedness of peace.
During World War II DeShazer served as a bombardier in the Doolittle raid over Japan in April 1942. Taken captive when forced to bail out of his plane, DeShazer spent the next 40 months as a prisoner of war, 34 months of it in solitary confinement. While held captive, his enemies tortured him. He nearly starved to death. He almost lost his life to dysentery.
But more than two years into his captivity, a guard gave him a Bible. DeShazer devoured the Scriptures, memorizing the Sermon on the Mount among other passages. Sick and weak in a filthy cell, he committed his heart to Jesus as Savior. He promised to share his faith with the Japanese if ever released.
Liberation finally came following the Japanese surrender in August 1945. After obtaining a biblical literature degree and marrying, DeShazer returned to Japan in 1948 as a Free Methodist missionary at the age of 35. He spent the next 30 years in the Land of the Rising Sun, helping to plant 23 churches around the country.
His story of redemption is a wonderful illustration of Jesus’ commandment to love our enemies.
Topics: missions | No Comments »
Baseball Is Better Than Football
By John W. Kennedy | March 24, 2008
Ah, tis spring, the time of year baseball fans are rejuvenated. By May, some of our teams already will be out of the running for the playoffs.
Baseball always has been my favorite sport, and I suppose a lot of that has to do with my dad taking me to St. Louis as a boy to see the likes of future Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Bob Gibson perform.
The Cardinals remain my favorite team, even if there isn’t much to look forward to this season. But the experts said that two years ago and St. Louis won the World Series.
Apparently I’m out of step with culture when it comes to sports. According to a HarrisInteractive poll published last month, twice as many Americans (30 percent) consider pro football their favorite sport as baseball. While pro baseball still is America’s second most popular sport, a quarter-century ago it and pro football had the same fan following. For most of the 20th century, until the Super Bowl came along, baseball reigned supreme as America’s favorite pastime.
But there’s nothing like the drama of baseball: the strategy that goes into what pitch is thrown with the bases loaded on a 3-2 count; the thrill of a double steal; the unassisted double play; the diving catch to save a run; the unanticipated excitement of a walk-off home run.
Baseball fans usually are civilized and family-friendly, whereas sections at pro football games can be full of profane drunks. I’d much rather sit outside on a warm summer evening and take in a baseball game than freeze in the winter watching football.
Younger people prefer the speed and violence of football. But the fact that there is no clock in baseball is one of the beauties of the sport.
For all its problems—steroids, out-of-control free-agent salaries, a weak-willed commissioner to name a few—baseball is still king. Play ball!
Topics: baseball | 2 Comments »
Early Admission
By John W. Kennedy | March 19, 2008
Less than 24 hours after being sworn in as New York governor to replace a governor disgraced in a federal prostitution investigation, the Empire State’s new chief executive has admitted to previously being involved in adultery with “a number of women.”
David A. Paterson’s revelation Tuesday at a news conference seemed eerily reminiscent of outgoing Gov. Eliot Spitzer a week earlier. With an attractive, dazed-looking wife at his side, Paterson announced that he had affairs with several women from 1999-2001
while serving as a state senator. He said that learning his wife Michelle Paige Paterson had been unfaithful caused his original adulterous behavior.
Paterson took the initiative to confess the transgression in an effort to avoid the mess that ended Spitzer’s political career. He knew making a pre-emptive announcement now will prevent a media circus later. Unlike the vague non-explanation originally offered by Spitzer, Paterson used the word infidelity.
However, as politicians are wont to do, Paterson did a lot of spinning. “I haven’t broken any laws,” Paterson said. “I don’t think I’ve violated my oath of office. I saw this as a private matter.”
Of course sexual sin is never a “private matter” because it has the potential to shatter families. And when a politician repeatedly breaks his wedding vows it leads one to wonder if he can be trusted with keeping the public’s interest in mind.
Fortunately, Paterson said he and his wife of 15 years have received counseling and they remain very much in love. As he faces pressures in his new job I hope he remembers pledges of faithfulness are for more than a season.
Topics: adultery | No Comments »
Beware the Boycott
By John W. Kennedy | March 18, 2008
For two years I received an e-mail from American Family Association proclaiming its boycott of Ford Motor Co. to be a great success. This ministry typically cited the automotive giant’s huge quarterly losses, connecting that to customer dissatisfaction with Ford’s “promotion of the homosexual agenda.”
Last week AFA announced that it had called off the boycott because Ford had seen the folly of pandering to gay clientele. AFA declared that its protest played a “very significant role” in Ford’s 8 percent drop in monthly sales over a 24-month period.
I doubt that Ford’s troubles stem from a massive consumer rebellion among conservative Christians. I know some good Christian people who will never drive anything but a Ford, no matter what the company does. Ford, like General Motors and Chrysler, started its financial slide long before the boycott began a couple of years ago. The chief factor of course is economic: consumers are buying foreign-made cars that are less expensive instead.
One of the problems with singling out a certain corporation for a boycott is that there are plenty of other firms with the same policies. According to the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual lobbying group, Ford (along with GM and DaimlerChrysler) is one of 195 U.S. companies with a perfect “corporate equality” rating. Ford didn’t make HRC’s gay-friendly list until long after companies such as American Airlines, Eastman Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, Nike and Xerox had paved the way.
Other ministries have used a scattergun approach against Disney, claiming its gay-friendliness is somehow more offensive than media giants Time Warner or Viacom.
There’s nothing wrong with boycotting if it’s done consistently. In the past I’ve refused to eat at certain restaurants or buy from certain chain stores whose parent corporation donated to Planned Parenthood. But it’s tough to be principled in boycotting today because there are few companies, when all the subsidiaries are considered, not donating to homosexual rights or abortion rights groups.
Topics: boycott | 1 Comment »
Society’s Moment of Truth?
By John W. Kennedy | March 12, 2008
If you want to see how far our culture has deteriorated in the past half century, many comparative benchmarks exist. I suggest an analogy of game shows.
What’s My Line? had good reason to stay on primetime television every week for 17 years, ending in 1967. Besides been interesting, good-natured, witty, and spontaneous, the live quiz show in which four celebrity panelists tried to guess the occupation of regular contestants had another thing going for it: civility.
Nattily dressed What’s My Line? moderator John Charles Daly addressed contestants as “Mr.” and “Mrs.” After learning the identity of famous mystery guests, panelists (who had been blindfolded) typically would compliment them on their career or latest work. Male members of the panel stood to shake hands with contestants as they left the stage.
Alas, respect seems to be a trait of a bygone era.
Today we have the likes of Moment of Truth, which has a new episode on Fox tonight. In this game show, which is highly influenced by reality TV, players must answer 21 increasingly personal – and what should remain private – questions in an effort to win the top prize of $500,000. Examples are, “Do you find any of your spouse’s friends attractive?” and “Would you commit a sin to have your credit card debt erased?” A polygraph exam administered backstage preps the contestants.
A recent episode contained a segment in which a 26-year-old wife revealed in front of her 24-year-old husband that she had committed adultery. Rather than win any money, the couple quickly headed for divorce court.
If Moment of Truth isn’t your idea of fun, stay tuned. ABC has Wanna Bet? Contestants place wagers on whether they can perform stunts to win cash. Or CBS has Splitsville, where divorcing couples compete against each other to claim their own possessions.
I think I’ll stick with Arlene Francis and Bennett Cerf on What’s My Line? reruns on the Game Show Network.
Topics: television | 1 Comment »
Power Is Fleeting
By John W. Kennedy | March 11, 2008
The swift demise of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is yet another lesson in humility for officeholders.
Yesterday, Spitzer was a powerful figure, less than two years after being elected to the widest gubernatorial landslide in the history of the Empire State. Today he can’t find a friend, even in his own party.
The revelation that federal authorities believe Spitzer is part of a customer base that pays thousands of dollars an hour for the services of prostitutes seems incredible. It’s also amazing that such behavior in our culture still causes outrage. Various laws have been passed to protect sexual behavior that isn’t between a husband and wife. And television and movies continually present the message that sex with anyone at anytime has no consequences.
Yet somehow the public apparently still believes sexual encounters between a governor and a high-priced call girl are worthy of punishment, if not legally at least by relinquishing your office.
As a pro-life advocate I won’t be sorry to see Spitzer go. Six years ago, while New York attorney general, Spitzer launched an investigation of two dozen pregnancy care centers in the state. Subpoenas demanded that the PCCs reveal their “false advertising and deceptive business practices.” Spitzer said at the time that he had discovered that the centers’ “goal is to persuade women not to consider abortion.”
Trying to counsel women so that they won’t abort their baby certainly sounds like a crime. Clearly it’s dangerous if more mothers started giving birth rather than disposing of the “blob of tissue.” Last year, as governor, Spitzer proposed a bill that would eliminate abortion restrictions in New York and require faith-based hospitals to provide abortions.
It’s not time for opponents to gloat, or cast stones. There have been plenty of Christian leaders caught in sexual misconduct. I hope that Spitzer, his wife of 20 years and their three teenage daughters receive the counsel needed to heal from this tragic episode.
Topics: prostitution | 1 Comment »