RE: German harps.....Why?

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

The German harp and other German musical instruments are a mufti million 
dollar business here in the US.

We saved their ass in the 40's from  Adolph and his ilk. We saved them from 
starving in the late 40's with the Berlin airlift.

I can see harplers under 50 saying to themselves "What war? What airlift?

There is no help from them in Iraq, because Saddam had them in his back 
pocket.

So.....Why do we support them by buying all their stuff, because. We're 
selfish. We're inclined to let somebody else solve the problem and we 
because, we have no backbone.

Your friendly dissident in Idaho........Kenny


I think that if I avoided buying stuff from countries I had an issue with 
(probably a different batch of countries to yours, but this isn't the time 
or place....) I'd have a miserable time both because I'd be restricting 
myself severely and because I'd be spending too much time researching the 
ethics involved.  You could have mentioned China (human rights record) and 
Japan (ditto, and not exactly our allies in WW2 either).  Or Brazil, what 
with their rain forest destruction.  All the aforementioned countries are 
major harp manufacturers.  OK, that sounds like I'm being expedient, but 
let's also not forget that our harps are being put together by other fellow 
ordinary human beings who are only doing it to put food on their plates.   I 
doubt whether they give Saddam or George or you or me a second thought while 
they're doing that.  If we stop buying the harps you can bet your bottom 
dollar that it will be they, and not the big bosses, who suffer first.

Ethically, it behoves us all to push in the direction we feel is right even 
if only in small ways.  Raising issues for discussion is one valid way, as 
is boycotting, if only that will satisfy your conscience.  But it's a long 
way off being a perfect world, and we still have to live in it.

Steve (conscience-ridden owner of harps from China, Brazil, Germany, 
Japan....)


Want more than the blues?  Try Irish!
http://mysite.freeserve.com/trad_irish_harmonica

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