This is a really cool project. ABC’s World News has a series this week on whether or not a typical upper middle class family can survive without consumer goods made in America. It includes:
- Footage of a bunch of Americans claiming to buy America
- ABC’s news team going through the house of one family–the Usrys–and taking out everything not made in America (the footage brings up the flags of the countries where their stuff was made
- Replacements for those goods that were made in the US
Plus there are stats about how much an impact on jobs it would have if people just made an effort to buy American. And a separate website to find–or submit–items made in America.
And thus far, at least, the whole thing comes off like a reality show, down to the little girl sheepishly admitting her American Girl doll was made in China.
It’s the kind of thing you might find in some lefty magazine. But because it’s ABC, a subsidiary of the Disney Corporation (which makes a lot of their loot overseas), it hits the appeal to patriotism (and shame) pitch perfect.