Patriotism At Wholesale Prices

When discussing the controversy that frequently swirls around my employer American Apparel, I like to say that I think I work for one of the most ethical companies in America, it's just that our ethics aren't necessarily America's. What I mean is that in this country, a world of selfish behavior will be excused in the name of making a buck, while people waste their moral approbation over the far less important matter of sex. Money is far more powerful in people's lives then sex. Just think, how much of your time this week will go towards earning, spending, or managing money, and how much will go towards trying to or actually having sex?

I love working for a company that treats its blue-collar workers better then anyone in the garment industry. On the other hand, I don't mind at all working for a company that makes hot shorts.

One of the most disturbing aspects of our poor economic ethics is the cheap way that we will sell out even our national heritage, and turn a collective blind eye towards the monetary exploitation of what in other nations would be considered sacred events. It's not just that the Administration has abused 9/11 as a brass ring to unprecedented political power, or that a crass man like Oliver Stone is trying to revive his career using that day of all days. If you have walked along the streets surrounding the WTC site in New York, you have seen the tchotchke vendors, a sight that always reminds me of Jesus wielding the lash in the temple. Yet what could top actually transforming a symbol of our shared tribal grief into real, cold, hard, cash? Gold and silver, recovered from the ruins, and now turned into the perfect token of a nation willing to put its soul on the block for a quick buck. Tell, me, which of these images offends you more?