This weekend I looked at a lot of the objects in my
home. Many of them (8 out of 18) were
made in China. 3 were from the US, 2
from Europe, and 5 from other miscellaneous countries (the Philippines, India,
Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kyrgyzstan, to be specific). The objects ranged from clothing to
electronics to a collection of random artifacts gathered over the years.
Obviously, the majority of the items came from outside of
the United States, an issue that many politicians bring up. At first this captured my attention (the
typical “why are so many American products made overseas? This is an outrage!”),
but then I saw something much more intriguing: the printing on the back of an
iPhone.
A small, neat print clearly says, “Designed by Apple in
California Assembled in China.”
Really? Really,
Apple? Steve Jobs is only one of the
most famous men of this age. Everyone
knows that he is American. Everyone knows
he designed Apple’s products. Even if
someone were to protest and say that he did not design every product, Apple is still an American company. Therefore, what does this say about us? Does it reflect anything about how we view
ourselves? And our views on others?
It cannot be denied that the majority of our products are
made in China. But the fact that Apple
clarifies that the product was designed in America shows America’s paranoia at
no longer being the best. The iPhone
could have been designed elsewhere, so it must be clarified that, in fact, an American
company was the one that dreamt up the idea.
The language of the second sentence shows a disregard for the workers
who actually built up that American idea: the iPhone wasn’t built in China. That would imply that they alone were
responsible. The same problem arises
with made. Instead, it was assembled in
China, following the idea of an American company. This little phrase etched on Apple products
shows America’s view of itself as all powerful and other countries as tools.
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