What has happened to your National Pride America what has happened to your once over bearing over patriotic way of thinking that was once the secret envy of numerous nations. You were infamous for your jingoistic ways and loud Yankee strident voices proclaiming everything that was American was better just because it was American.

What has happened to you America why are you trying to drive your country to its knees by contentedly and continually purchasing inexpensive foreign sweatshop garbage from Wal-Mart, Kmart and their cohorts? How many of you drive foreign manufactured vehicles, how many Canadian and American auto workers have you personally condemned to unemployment by doing so.?

I know, I realize it's extremely challenging these days to go shopping and find things made in North America the stuff just isn't on the shelves for us to purchase. But Canadian and American businesses are suffering because North Americans don't buy things made in America and Canada.

We must learn to appreciate the power that we are wielding when spending our hard earned dollars. Know that by using your dollars to purchase North American made goods it has a compounding effect on the US and Canadian economies and therefore on Canadian and American working man. When you buy foreign merchandise you send your dollars overseas that money leaves our economy and helps support another country.

We all know where and how this all started that the North American consumer that's you and me by the way not some stranger in the next town or one province or state over, it is you and I that are to blame, for we just couldn't resist the temptation of saving that extra couple of bucks on that foreign brand and so the decline started, now we can't afford to buy North American made items when we occasionally come across them because we're barely making ends meet at our low income jobs because our employers can't can't compete with the cheap foreign labor of the near 3rd world places we all buy our less expensive "bargains" from. It's become a runaway train that we can't get off of, it all appears to be beyond our control but we must find away to break free from it. We must support North American made products it's the only way out.

Thankfully there are a few indications that perhaps that people are realizing their mistake and trying to put it right just small signs in little looked for places but signs of hope none the less, and these small signs of change must be cultivated and encouraged to blossom into larger signs of change or the North American economy will keel over and die. One of these little signs of hope is the Made in America Movement another is the Buy Handmade.org on their website there is a pledge to be made that over the Christmas holiday season you will buy only handcrafted gifts, their reason for urging you do this is that :-

"The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us reconnect. The accumulating environmental effects of mass production are a major cause of global warming and the poisoning of our air, water and soil. Every item you make yourself or purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production"

Have you taken the handmade pledge yet? to date (Oct 18 2008) 27,503 people have since its birth in Oct of 2007 on the Buy Handmade.org site.

Well ladies and gentlemen I'm here to tell you its not enough, just to buy hand made items you have to buy hand made in North America items , handcrafted goods that are made by local people or at least crafters residing in your own province or state. When we Google for hand made or handcrafted goods what websites pop up, huge displays of goods made by foreign artisans living in third world nations, we are requested to support them via the fair trade groups and charities that import these gifts ,quote from one such site:-

"Handmade candles, soaps, jewelry and toys from Asia, Africa, Central and South America empower indigenous people who are paid a fair wage to support their families. These beautiful crafts are perfect socially responsible gifts for business, family and loved ones. When you buy these one-of-a-kind indigenous crafts, your dollars help:

* to preserve the rich biodiversity of the rain forests, resources that may offer the only cures to disease * to protect wildlife and repatriate them into their natural environments * to give families alternative incomes to wildlife trafficking and deforestation for their food and shelter * to provide men and women in war torn countries with the means to support themselves and spread the words of peace * to help Fair Trade co-ops provide members with housing, health care and education

So go ahead. Give the gift that keeps on giving..."

Yes go ahead. Give the gift that keeps on giving...but make sure it was made in North America after all charity remember begins at home.

If the reasons above or something similar is your real motive for purchasing handmade items made in an alien land you can just as easily support the same type of worthwhile issues but at home, or is it just because once again you can not resist that very tempting buck or two you might save by purchasing Christmas gifts from crafters located in less wealthy lands where their costs of living are much less and will never ever approach living standards of America and Canada, rather than support local North American crafters with higher costs of living to maintain you'd rather save a couple of bucks and watch North America go to the wall. Don't turn your backs on the North American crafters buy Canadian or American.

My North American counterpart of above advert

"Handmade candles, soaps, jewelry and toys from, Main , Nova Scotia , Eastern Canada and North America empower North American Native peoples by paying them a fair income to support their families. These beautiful crafts are perfect socially responsible gifts for business, family and loved ones. When you buy these one-of-a-kind North American crafts, your dollars help:

*To preserve the rich bio diversity of American and Canadian National parks and land marks for future generations sustained by US and Canadian income tax systems increase contributions to the taxation system by purchasing North American handcrafted goods ....preserve Niagara falls .... help rebuild New Orleans today! *Protect North American endangered species support your government with income taxes paid by North American Crafters and small local business owners save a Florida manatee or a Canadian lynx this Christmas.

*to give low income and single parent North American families alternative incomes sources to welfare , social security, and workers compensation many women turn to making homemade traditional crafts to stretch meager incomes, support your neighbor first.

*to provide additional ways of earning income for men and women in low income families and prevent the marital stresses associated with low income North American living give them peace of mind at home, in this two income essential society make it possible for would be stay at home mums the chance to be with, bond with and educate their own children help them stretch out a single income by purchasing their handcrafted goods

*Help local North American governments provide low cost housing; health care and education through increasing contributions to the taxation system by supporting your local crafter by buying North American handcrafted goods help people who live in your town before you help strangers

Article by Wanda of wandasworx.com,Proud Canadian Crafter, Go here http://wandasworx.com/pages_blog for more ways you can help save North America for other reading on this topic click here

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