Red White and Blue the New Green?

I frequently have discussions with friends and colleagues about buying American cars.  I of course think that it’s imperative that we buy cars made in USA (not just made by American companies in Mexico).  Although study after study by the likes of JD Power equate the quality of American and Japanese cars and rank them above European cars, people still tell me that they think that American cars are of lower quality and refuse to consider the contrary.

As self-hating and anti-American as such sentiments may be, I cannot always convince them of their wrongness.  The issue is that someone does not want to compromise an inch in their pursuit of a particular product.  So let’s make an analogy.  What would we think if someone absolutely insisted on a fur coat from an enadangered species, such as leopard, and absolutely refused to settle for something less prestigious (in their mind)?  We would say that they are gluttonous and immoral, right?  What if they found out that their favorite tennis shoe is exclusively produced by child labor in India?  We would say that buying such a product is also insupportable, right?   So my argument is that buying American should be the new ethical imperative in our purchasing.  When we spend thousands of our dollars on expensive products, we should cut slack for the American ones, just as we would if they were made in environmentally-sustainable ways or supported fair trade for local farmers, etc.  I’m willing to go the extra mile just to buy American and will search around for the American-made version of something.  Will you?