[TheForge] Buy American?

Mon May 19 16:31:00 2003

While I would agree with your comments about the change in attitudes of the 
"typical" modern person, be they american or some other nationality, I 
would disagree with your lumping shows such as Junkyard Wars in as a 
symptom of this behavior pattern.

With the regrettable disappearance of shop classes in our schools, I find 
it very good and educational for there to be a voice telling everyone that 
just because you can't find or afford it in a store doesn't mean you can't 
have one. The ability to take one object and show how it can be adapted to 
fit another purpose is extremely valuable, and if there is a show or two or 
three out there that can entice the younger generation to think in this 
fashion, I'm all for it.

Aaron

At 02:59 PM 5/19/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>I encounter this all the time ( and given their temperment as a group, I
>expect many blacksmiths do)  I tend to do most things myself,  and save
>repair and recycle everything.   This mystifies most people.  For
>instance, I spent this weekend with my son trimming dead limbs out of
>huge oak trees.  Neighbors observed us out there with climbing ropes
>fift feet and higher in the tree, swinging from limb to limb cutting
>away.  The most common remark was it looked like a lot a work, and that
>we would be better off hiring it out for several hundred dollars.   The
>thing is, had I told them my son and I were off to spend the afternoon
>and $75 at a rock climbing gym, they would have had a totally different
>reaction.   In our society people pay other people to do their yard
>work, so that they have time to pay gyms for the privledge of doing faux
>work.    We order custom cabinets from a catalog,  have "homecooked"
>food delivered to us,  and decorate our gardens with "wrought iron"
>furniture made of cast aluminum.   At the same time, a  hot trend in
>entertainment (the fastest growing segment of the economy) seems to be
>watching other people do work, wether it is "Junkyard Wars", "American
>Chopper", "Monster Garage", "Science Island", "Trading Spaces" or even
>"Survivor".    On the other hand, it is interesting to note that even
>old shows like "This Old House" and to a lessor extent, "Home Time" have
>morphed from shows on how to do it yourself, to explanations of what
>your contractor is doing.
>
>Charles
>
>Reynolds wrote:
>
>>Mention the idea of Victory Gardens to someone. Must won't have a clue as 
>>to why those people 60 years ago did so, and if they do, they wouldn't 
>>know a mustard seed from a pumpkin seed. That work is for peons.
>>
>>Ultimately our success as a nation will contribute to our undoing. In the 
>>interim, just remember that the Romans had an unstoppable military 
>>machine and ruled most every area of the world they chose to rule. They 
>>rotted from within, having become consumed with eliteism, leisure, 
>>opulence, sexual preoccupation, and an endless selfishness and 
>>back-biting by its leaders. Sound familiar?
>>
>
>
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