Driving to work this morning, I was listening to John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change”. Love the song, but I find some fault with it and as I thought more and more about it, one thought led to another and the snowball turned into an avalanche of thoughts and feelings.
‘Waiting on the world to change’ sounds so…well, lazy. Waiting, as if one person, one voice, could not possibly make a difference. It does seem insurmountable, but when one person and then another person, and then another person and so forth start moving in the direction of change, pretty soon things are moving in the right direction! Waiting on the world to change just seems to me like an endeavor that can lead to only one certain outcome: nothing will change.
You know, as Americans we pride ourselves on all of these things that we profess to be so great about our country, our culture, our way of life. I feel like we have gotten so wrapped up in patting ourselves on the back that we have forgotten the very reasons that we are the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave’. The struggles, the sacrifice, the values, the hard-working characteristics of the general American people has gone… somewhere. Somewhere where we have forgotten and need to get back to, desperately.
When John Mayer sang “Waiting on the World to Change” all I could think of was 9/11 and the aftermath. It was this horrifying blow to us as Americans, and it was the only time in my whole life that I have seen the highly touted “American Pride” actually kick into gear. Our grief as a country suddenly brought us together, we were all watching the news and grieving for our fellow Americans instead of watching awards shows and reality tv; we were flying our beautiful flag at our residences, even on our cars, all across this great country. For a good length of time, we were again united, under God, and indivisible… with liberty and justice for all.
And despite all of the horrifying events of 9/11 and its aftermath, I felt a swell of happiness and pride to be part of something so unified, something so important.
And then, like everything else that is American these days, we fell off the wagon again. Our patriotism and grief slowly gave way to our busy schedules and lives. Granted we became divided again as a presidential election loomed in the future and in some ways, I guess that is going to happen.
It just felt good to be united, even for a little while. Doing something good. We should be doing that again. We should be uniting and banning together, perhaps we cannot change the world right now, but at least we could get started getting our own country in order. If each one of us sits around just waiting on the world to change like John Mayer, I think we’re going to be waiting an awfully long time. But maybe, just maybe if each one of us did just a little bit of good, a baby step in the right direction and started talking about the change we want to be part of, perhaps our actions would pay themselves forward and we again would begin to unify as one nation.
I know I wrote a post a while back about an email that I received that really hit home to me. The email is below:
One Light Bulb at a Time
A physics teacher in high school once told his students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn’t slow a train at all,a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American.
I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China .
The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA . Start looking.
In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else – even their job. So, after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track.
Let’s get behind her!
My grandson likes Hershey’s candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more. My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico now. I have switched to Crest.
You have to read the labels on everything.
This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled, “Everyday Value”. I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats – they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in – get ready for this – the USA in a company in Cleveland, Ohio.
So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here.
So on to another aisle – Bounce Dryer Sheets . . . yep, you guessed it, Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA – the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time!
Stop buying from overseas companies!
(We should have awakened a decade ago)
Let’s get with the program. help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U. S. A.
This just seems to me to be the activity that all Americans should be trying to do their part in. My goodness, we need to take care of one another. We have started being a lot more conscious of our purchases in our family, noticing that almost everything we owned said ‘Made in China’. Made in China? Sure seems like the Chinese have banned together and unified. That darn country is ruling everything, stealing jobs from Americans as they are willing to work cheaper and produce cheaper (read: crappy) stuff at rock bottom prices. I have been as guilty as any that when faced with buying two like products, I grab the cheapest, never looking at where it is made or thinking about the consequences of my purchase.
But the consequence of my purchase is resonating through our once powerful and thriving country. My choice to save .11 cents and buy the lightbulbs made in China instead of the ones made in the USA has helped to contribute to the loss of American jobs. If American companies cannot stay in business and compete with the rock-bottom prices that China comes through with, guess what? The American company closes and jobs are lost.
The only way to stimulate our economy and help our fellow Americans to create businesses and find jobs is to put money back into our own economy, and stop sending it to other countries. I would gladly spend .11 extra cents if I was conscious of the fact that my effort was helping my neighbor put food on his table and raise his family. I would hope that he would think and do the same for me.
It requires very little to help, but it does require participation. It also requires that we stop moving through our days in a perpetual fog. I am as guilty as any for this. Since I’ve already referenced the light bulb purchases, I’ll stay on that track and tell you that when I’m in the grocery store, I’m in a fog. It is like I’m on auto-pilot, going through the motions. My mind is preoccupied with thoughts of dinner, or my busy schedule, and I’m in a super-rush to grab-and-go. When I reached for the lightbulbs, I just absentmindedly grabbed the brand I always grab, for no particular reason except that it is the brand I’ve always bought. Probably was the brand that my Mom used to buy and hey- the apple never falls far from the tree, right? Well, in this particular example, if I was thinking clearly and not moving through my life in a perpetual fog, I would look at the competing light bulbs and BUY AMERICAN.
This is what I’ve been trying to do and while I do s0, talking and educating my son that he, too, should consider the American families and jobs that are affected by our decisions. I am trying and I am doing better, little by little. Drive American, Buy American… give back to America. If each person tried to do this little project, and told their friends and neighbors… and those friends and neighbors became more conscious about their spending habits and told their friends and family and so forth…. then guess what? Each one of us would be contributing to something greater than ourselves and helping our fellow Americans, and thereby helping ourselves. We would be uniting again as a nation to do something for our fellow Americans and our beloved country…
Dear John Mayer:
Instead of “Waiting on the World to Change”, how about “Be the change you want to see in the world”-Mahatma Ghandi. I think it is a great time to start.
John Mayer photo credit: Abby Blunt
