The third load of dishs are going in the dishwasher and the sink is empty. All the left-overs are shrink wrapped in the mega-fridge, and the last cup of warmed over coffee is sitting next to me. All is well in the McKeithan house.
We did Thanksgiving in-house this time around. Had the Mom-in-Law over for Turkey etc. I am a firm believer that at least once a month you should have company over. Not only does it keep you socially in contact with the rest of the world, but it forces you to clean the house up! With luck, tomorrow we will go through the pile of papers and cloths stacked in hidden corners of the house and toss most of it, then pay the bills that were hidden amid the junk mail and scratch notes. But of all the happy successes of this suprisingly non-stresses holiday, the best one started at the end of last night.
It's been 25 hours since I walked out of a retail establishment. May not seem like a big deal to you, but personal success can be private major victories.
My closest friends (read that freinds if you know my style) have a personal commitment avoid products made in China when ever they can. It's a child labor boycot. It's a poor labor conditions boycot. And it's a royaly difficult task and a life changing descision. They get annoyed complaints from those set to the task who don't like the niggling shadow on there own concious but not from me. I like the situation becuase there is NO CHALLENGE quiet like trying to find a non-chinese toy in a retail store in America.
But back to My Sucess. I believe very strongly in hollidays. Chances to spend time off work and out of the normal stresses of every day work. I think it is sad that people have to shlep into Safeway on a day like Thanksgiving, to wait on those of us who had no idea that there is not a roasting pan in the house that will hold a Turkey bigger than just about any pet I've ever owned.
So my committment is this: If it's a government holiday, I will not shop if at all possible. I will not by gas, I will not browse for CD's, and I will not go down to Chevy's for a quick bight to eat.
I'm only about 50% faithful to my pledge at this point, but it's a start. Wednesday night at 11:58 I pushed my shopping cart out of the grocery store praying to God I had everything we would need for our personal feast. The lady at the checkout was at the end of her shift but would be back tomorrow.
She'll be working next thanksgiving too, becuase there are way more shoppers out there than holiday anti-retail zealots, but I can go to bed tonight knowing that at least this time around, I wasn't one of them.
My
Posted by cmckeithan at November 25, 2004 11:44 AMIt's been 25 hours since I walked out of a retail establishment. May not seem like a big deal to you, but personal success can be private major victories.
I applaud your stand. Personal beliefs must be held high for all to see so others can realise that they are a guiding light on the right path to righteousness (or read: mixed-capitalism if you prefer. ;) It tears at me - seeing the importance of holidays (Thanksgiving is one of them) being ignored for commercial success. As many of you will know - I'm probably one of the more fiscally conservative people in our group. But I still feel there is a *need* or dare I say *requirement* for tending to our shared societal fabric. I remember the day that Macy's (bastion of Xmas Traditions and shopping) said they would be open on Thanksgiving day - to give the shoppers a head start.
I haven't been back to Macy's very much since then; not really a boycott, more of a lack of quality issue. Macy's had been slipping in quality for years on the west coast and that event just brought their hyper-consumerism into sharper focus. And I don't see the "quality for price mark-up" as worth wasting time in the store. You can get the same junk at Mervyn's for 1/2 the price and Mervyn's is closer. ;)
I heard that Macy's on the east coast still believes in tradition and quality - so I may shop their one day... (I don't get to the east coast very often, so I can wait. :)
My closest friends (read that freinds if you know my style) have a personal commitment avoid products made in China when ever they can. It's a child labor boycot. It's a poor labor conditions boycot. And it's a royaly difficult task and a life changing descision. They get annoyed complaints from those set to the task who don't like the niggling shadow on there own concious but not from me. I like the situation becuase there is NO CHALLENGE quiet like trying to find a non-chinese toy in a retail store in America.
DW was saying, "If we said, we *hate* yellow, everyone would avoid yellow fabrics and clothes for us, but Anti-China is seen as a chore". Part of it is visual, you can *see* yellow across the room. You can't *see* made in slave-town just looking at a toy (well most can't...). Maybe if we made it easier and forced all Chinese products to carry a big label of a wounded Chinese child labourer carrying a heavy flag with a $$$ sign on it and a fat manager holding a whip and laughing as the money falls out of his pockets.
But it would be hard to get the art work on underwear...
Hmmmmm, maybe we should put big ole' flags of the nation that made the item on the labels. Visual icons are much easier to see.
(then we could have the hammer and sickle all over the place. :)
I wonder how events will unfold on their twisted path to liberty and freedom in the 21st century.
China will be free one day - and I will cheer when they are free.
S
Posted by: Steve at November 29, 2004 09:40 AM