Remember when everyone climbed aboard the "Buy American" bandwagon? Walmart was dripping with American Flags. Ford cars and trucks were sporting flag covered bumper stickers with patriotic words "Buy American" on them. But not any more.

So what happened?

At one time, not all that long ago, a good majority of the country was paddling that particular canoe up stream against the current of cheap foreign goods. Today however, it would be considered politically incorrect to do so.

I have a theory, and you may find it crazy, but please indulge me.

In the past, America was America. If I said to someone, "I'm American." they would know I was talking about the United States of America. Not Canada, Mexico and certainly not Brazil. Yes, the United States and Canada were once considered the two countries that made up North America. Mexico and a little south of the Panama Canal was considered Central America. Brazil, and the countries around it were South America. Today it is a different story. Apparently there is no longer a Central America, just north and south.

My theory encompasses more than just the now-dead "Buy American" sentiment, but also the death of the largest business in the world. We have repeatedly heard from our government that businesses that received bail-out money were "to big to fail" because if they did fail, it would wreck our economy.

Surprise! The one business that has failed, and is now being propped up by any means necessary, is the business of America, and it's failure has wrecked, not only our economy, but apparently the global economy as well.

The biggest reason for the removal of the "Buy American" mentality from the people of the United States, is because there wasn't anything left to buy that was "Made in America". Yes there are still some big ticket items like cars and trucks, and some appliances that are still made in the U.S., but that isn't where the failure happened.

The destruction of the business of America, has come in the form of small to mid range purchases. Televisions, computers, iPhones, clothing, and pharmaceuticals are the kinds of products we purchase regularly, but they are also the kinds of products we can't purchase from U.S. Manufacturers.

Certainly Apple Inc. is an American company, and when I buy an iPad, I feel as though I am buying it from an American company, but the truth is, that it is cheaply manufactured somewhere in Asia, while Apple receives a healthy profit from selling it here. Each of the components needed to build an iPad, is manufactured at different facilities, and it is eventually assembled, boxed and shipped to the United States where we techno-hungry early adopters shell out $600 or more for what is essentially $50 worth of components and labor.

Yes, there are some manufacturing suppliers left in the United States, that serve the electronics sector but there aren't that many, and they are having trouble competing with Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, and China. Often times these struggling American companies attempt to compete, using the phrases "Quality not Quantity" or even "Buy American", but they are faced with a daunting task.

After the apparent abolition of "Central America", and the creation of NAFTA, Mexico became our manufacturing mecca. Why keep an industrial factory in the U.S., when we can pay people in Mexico a fraction of what we pay American workers. This seemed like a sound business practice, and it would have stimulated segments of our economy, had it not been done incorrectly. A.O. Smith used to manufacture water heaters in Mt. Sterling Kentucky, but closed the operation there and moved it to Mexico where they could employ more workers for less money. Initially this would have been a good plan, but only if it had made the water heaters cheaper to buy here in the U.S. Unfortunately they did not get cheaper, only A.O. Smith's profit margins increased. To make matters worse, the unemployed that this move created, now couldn't afford the new water heaters they used to build.

When the rally cry, "Buy American" started, it seemed like a way to reinvigorate the failing business of America. The idea was, that if people bought American, then the demand for American made goods would increase, and in turn create demand for employees to make those goods. Unfortunately, schemes like NAFTA had planned for just such an event.

Since Mexico was now part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, no one could stop them from plastering "Buy American" on anything they produced, and the same thing could be done in Canada. In an effort to prevent this kind of side-stepping, the people that tried to make "Buy American" a household phrase, switched to "Buy USA", which to be honest doesn't have the same ring to it.

Globalists, and Multi-national Corporations that not only had roots in the United States, but also had manufacturing facilities in other countries, saw this "Buy American" and "Buy USA" sentimentality as a threat. Not only was it a threat, but it caused a concern that the United States would become isolationist, and treat other countries much like France treats everyone. For many years, the French would export anything, and import nothing, because even if something was imported, it would never sell, because the French people wouldn't buy it. The primary reason for the French distaste for importing, was because they did not want to destroy their culture with imported garbage. At the time, if it wasn't made in France, the French thought it was garbage.

We in the United States, didn't really have a culture which we wished to protect. Immigration was seen as a good thing. A blending of cultures was seen to be the perfect stew for the American Melting Pot. Essentially, what we have indeed ended up with, is a consumer based society that does not value quality, craftsmanship, or even a strong dollar. Instead we value the instant gratification, at any cost.

We can't be bothered to grind coffee beans, and brew a pot of coffee in a "Made in the USA" Mr. Coffee coffee maker. We buy preground Columbian coffee, and $10 Chinese coffee makers, and a $1 pack of coffee filters, also made in China, and even that isn't "instant" enough for us, so we forget it and just go to Starbucks.

I'm the first to admit it. I don't buy American cars. Every American car I have ever had has been crap. They're slapped together, and hustled down the line all in an effort to make it to quitting time. My distaste for American cars, comes from my desire for durability, and quality. With that said, I have to add, that my distaste for American cars extends to any car built in America. Yes, I dislike the Toyota Camry, and even all the BMWs that are built in the U.S., because it's not about the vehicle, or even the quality of materials, it's about the quality of the people building the car.

Henry Ford is responsible for ruining cars in my opinion, or more to the point, the assembly line is to blame. Before robots were used to build cars, people were used like robots. Stand here, and put this on there, move to the next one. These people are not craftsmen, they're robots, and they have no pride in what they're building, because they are not allowed to. When people have no pride in what they do, it shows.

In effect, I am saying that in concert with the elimination of pride in work, and pride in our country, WE have killed the idea that "Buying American" is a good thing. Thanks in no small part to our government, failing to support us by eliminating import restrictions, but keep in mind, that WE are also responsible for giving our government the power to do what it wants.

Indeed, Buy American, if you can find it. But above all else vote for someone that can help restore pride in the United States, because right now, I have a hard time saying I'm proud to be an American.