I recently watched a documentary on what has happened to the garment industry. It chronicled the decline of said industry. At one time, the garment industry was the largest employer in NYC. Now less than 5% of clothing worn in this country is made in this country. The reason why this latched on in my mental mind, (1) because I have been on a purchasing fast with regard to clothing and (2) my mother took me shopping for my bornday. She wanted to buy me something pretty.
I buy as much American as I can find. I have owned 5 cars, all of them American. I really wanted a Prius this last time, but I could not bring myself to buy one. And every time I see one pass me I tear up a little. But I think it’s important to support your own. And since I am a resident and citizen of this country, I feel it’s our duty to make supporting your own a priority.
In this society we have moved away from ‘we’ to ‘me’. That’s not cool. Me cannot support a whole country and our nonchalance for what happens to others will eventually slap us in the face. If our choices cause another family to starve, then our taxes will increase to support them on welfare or in prison. And there are more than just one person losing the ability to feed their families. Then it will become too expensive to own property. You got it like that?
You cannot have a society where all three classes are not represented. Low, middle and upper. It is real easy for people to turn their noses up at people who work jobs you think are beneath you. Blue color jobs in this country, support this country. But in the last few decades, it has become shameful in being a blue collar employee. Very few children now a days aspire to jobs like firemen, police officers, teachers, hairdressers, and so on. People usually fall into these jobs because what they were shooting for didn’t work out. But what happens when there is nothing to fall back on? Then what are you supposed to do? And don’t get it twisted, there are some jobs that grown folks just won’t get hired to do. Yeah, you got grown folks delivering papers, but how many grown folks you see flipping burgers. And you wonder why there are so many homeless, jobless folks out there. Being middle class has become shameful.
OK. I have said all of this to say, it is important for all of us to be mindful to support our own. Yes you may feel, and validly so, that big companies won’t miss your money. But for every cheap blouse you buy, you are supporting some Indian or Chinese family while starving your cousin in NY. For every foreign car you purchase, you support a German or Japanese family but causing widespread poverty in Detroit. You free to do what you want, after all this is America. But if we don’t look after our own, who will? You think people abroad are buying Chryslers and Fords? And do the Knowledge, the United States of America does not have a big export market unless you wanna count the military.
Peace
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
You know what I did last night?
I made my own salad dressing and it wasn?t that difficult and it wasn?t nearly as expensive as I thought it was gonna be. Hmmm?..
One of the things I said I was gonna start doing was make more of my own food items. The items that we buy without giving much thought to it. Like salad dressing. mayonnaise, ketchup, stuff like that. Since I have come to read labels, I have noticed that there are disturbing additives in prepared and processed foods. DISTURBING. And to be perfectly honest, I have no remembrance of NOT purchasing certain foods. Condiments, syrups, bread, fish sticks, etc. We are so removed from the cooking process and have become disconnected from the food we put in our bodies. Maybe that?s one of the reasons why we are so fat as a Nation. We don?t have respect for what it takes to get food to the plate. How animals are slaughtered. How labor intensive it is to grow food.
I grew some cucumbers this past summer as an experiment, and I have to tell you, it was not easy. And I grew them bad boys in a container at my front door and I bitched? a lot. But I have a ridiculous respect for cucumbers and now I know what they are supposed to taste like and I know that it is not an easy process. It reminds me of grace that I used to pray over my food in the 85% day??I thank you creator for all that it takes to move food from your bounty to here on our plates. Peace.? That prayer wasn?t good enough for Christians then either. I swear you can?t please them, But I digress.
So I made an garlic, orange, ginger olive oiled based dressing to be a dip for some nori rolls. It is delicious. Damn delicious is a better description. I put some on some left over kale salad and it was off the chain. And I didn?t buy anything special to make it with. Just used some stuff I had laying around the kitchen. Here are some of my observations?. When you make a something, especially the way I made it, you cannot guarantee that it will taste the same every time you make it. Any food that I consistently make from scratch taste different every batch. Another thing I can say that I might have a problem with is that I didn?t make a whole bottle of it. And probably would never unless I was having a dinner party. When you make foods yourself, you are preparing them sans the preservatives and they will go bad quickly. So you have to make it every time you want to use it. That can be off putting. I have some ketchup that has been in my refrigerator for nearly 10 years. Yes it separates but all you have to do is shake it up and it goes back together. Don?t forget about adding water to it and shaking it up. I probably have 5 more years of ketchup in that container, that will be just as red and just as sweet in 5 years as it is today and was 10 years ago. That should be off putting.
Well, with anything new and important, there will be a period of adjustment. It took me a minute to get used to using grocery bags as my garbage bags and now I think of them as garbage bags as soon as they are empty. I have even made a dedicated spot for the reusable bag in the truck. I don?t know how much money I have saved but I do feel heartily satisfied. That I am doing something rather than just jaw-jacking.
So for those who follow me? (Teehee) You have homework. Make a list of all the food you absently purchase from the grocery store. I?ll leave mine after the Peace.
Peace.
Mayo
Salad dressing
I used to buy bread but I make it now, but I make it bad
Tofu
Ketchup
Mustard
Beverages
Chips/junkfood
Veggies
Pet food
Spreads
Pasta
Rice
Beans
Soup
Seasonings
One of the things I said I was gonna start doing was make more of my own food items. The items that we buy without giving much thought to it. Like salad dressing. mayonnaise, ketchup, stuff like that. Since I have come to read labels, I have noticed that there are disturbing additives in prepared and processed foods. DISTURBING. And to be perfectly honest, I have no remembrance of NOT purchasing certain foods. Condiments, syrups, bread, fish sticks, etc. We are so removed from the cooking process and have become disconnected from the food we put in our bodies. Maybe that?s one of the reasons why we are so fat as a Nation. We don?t have respect for what it takes to get food to the plate. How animals are slaughtered. How labor intensive it is to grow food.
I grew some cucumbers this past summer as an experiment, and I have to tell you, it was not easy. And I grew them bad boys in a container at my front door and I bitched? a lot. But I have a ridiculous respect for cucumbers and now I know what they are supposed to taste like and I know that it is not an easy process. It reminds me of grace that I used to pray over my food in the 85% day??I thank you creator for all that it takes to move food from your bounty to here on our plates. Peace.? That prayer wasn?t good enough for Christians then either. I swear you can?t please them, But I digress.
So I made an garlic, orange, ginger olive oiled based dressing to be a dip for some nori rolls. It is delicious. Damn delicious is a better description. I put some on some left over kale salad and it was off the chain. And I didn?t buy anything special to make it with. Just used some stuff I had laying around the kitchen. Here are some of my observations?. When you make a something, especially the way I made it, you cannot guarantee that it will taste the same every time you make it. Any food that I consistently make from scratch taste different every batch. Another thing I can say that I might have a problem with is that I didn?t make a whole bottle of it. And probably would never unless I was having a dinner party. When you make foods yourself, you are preparing them sans the preservatives and they will go bad quickly. So you have to make it every time you want to use it. That can be off putting. I have some ketchup that has been in my refrigerator for nearly 10 years. Yes it separates but all you have to do is shake it up and it goes back together. Don?t forget about adding water to it and shaking it up. I probably have 5 more years of ketchup in that container, that will be just as red and just as sweet in 5 years as it is today and was 10 years ago. That should be off putting.
Well, with anything new and important, there will be a period of adjustment. It took me a minute to get used to using grocery bags as my garbage bags and now I think of them as garbage bags as soon as they are empty. I have even made a dedicated spot for the reusable bag in the truck. I don?t know how much money I have saved but I do feel heartily satisfied. That I am doing something rather than just jaw-jacking.
So for those who follow me? (Teehee) You have homework. Make a list of all the food you absently purchase from the grocery store. I?ll leave mine after the Peace.
Peace.
Mayo
Salad dressing
I used to buy bread but I make it now, but I make it bad
Tofu
Ketchup
Mustard
Beverages
Chips/junkfood
Veggies
Pet food
Spreads
Pasta
Rice
Beans
Soup
Seasonings
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