Buy American!

The phrase has multiple connotations, some clichéd and some decidedly protectionist. Regardless, it’s a motto I try to live by whenever I can. I support American labor, period. And I put my money where my mouth is, though my cash is considerably smaller than my cake hole. Not only will I drive across town to buy an American product, I’ll pay a premium to do so. It’s my little piece of peace of mind, a hedge against the steady infiltration of foreign goods and services crawling across our Wal-Marted suburbascapes.

So I figured I’d be in pretty good stead carrying some hard-earned dollars to Thunder in the Rockies, the yearly motorcycle mega-rally in Loveland, over the Labor Day weekend. Billed as the “Sturgis of the Intermountain West,” TITR has become something of a destination for bikers in and around the area – a lot of bikers, judging by the parking area filled with thousands of motorcycles. In keeping with the theme for such events, the vast majority of bikes were Harley-Davidson, one of the better-known and iconic American brands for more than a century. A very solid, accept no substitute product and American iron at its chrome-wheeled, fuel-injected finest.

Not so for the goods inside the show. Each item I picked up – and there were many throughout the day – was of foreign origin. Taiwanese trinkets and tees, Pakistani jackets, Pakistani leathers and Pakistani chaps – enough to make me think that Pakistan is the new Western frontier. Polish sausage, but those went pretty well with the American beer, so I’m not complaining there. Shopping for a pair of boots to replace my road weary set, I stopped by the booth of a regional Harley dealer to try on a pair or two. I nearly blew a gasket, walking through the stacks of boxes, checking pair after pair. Chinese, each and every one. I can understand Nike. You pretty much know you are getting a sweatshop product there, and priced accordingly.

But a $200 plus pair of Harley-branded Chinese built boots? Not a chance, and no wonder attendance slipped at TITR. They have completely missed the boat, and I’ll be hard pressed to drop the admission fee next year for what was basically an outdoor junk mart.

As for the boots, I’ll be picking up my next pair right across Main Street at Jim’s, right here in Brighton. They carry Red Wing shoes, a brand made right here in the States.

Just like my feet.