Saturday, July 13, 2013

Patrioschism or just a missing period?

A friend's grandfather served our country in WWII, back when men joined the military out of patriotism and not just because they wanted to blow things up. He was as patriotic as they came.  He was a proud American and would let you know it any chance he got.
 
He also took pride in frugality, but this was only second to his love for country. One of his greatest discoveries was a line of tools that he would purchase at a lower cost than Dewalt or Craftsman; and, of course, made in America with the stamp to prove it - "made in usa". Unbeknownst to him, there was a city....outside of the U.S.A....named Usa....
 
Although I could not find a picture of a tool stamped with "Made in Usa", I did discover that it may have just been a myth. There is a real place called Usa, it's in Japan on the Island of Kyushu. The myth debunks the fact that the city was created after WWII in order to sell items to the U.S.A. stamped with "made in usa" as a guise for poorly produced Japanese products - apparently the city of Usa was around long before WWII. I couldn't, however, find anything about whether tools were ever made there or not.
 
I'm not sure if any of the above is true, or whether my friend's grandfather ever found out about the misrepresentation.  What I do know is that if you check your labels and go in with the right intentions, you can honor those who came before you by paying homage to their patriotism - no matter how non-existent you may think it is in a global economy.
 
My blog is titled “Made in USA” (purposefully omitting the periods) in honor of the good intentions of those who made our country great by simply believing in it.  I hope to do the same.