Dissolution of a great nation

When I was growing up America was No. 1 in everything. Our manufacturing, spearheaded by General Motors, dominated this country and the world. As Dr. Meek of Econ 101 related to our class, "No one in the world has the capital and capital investment the U.S. has."

Now, some 45 years later, we are a mere shadow of our former selves. No one could have brought us to this sad state except Americans themselves. Our leaders in Washington have sold us out to free trade and globalism, and the American people have embraced the idea that to buy foreign produced goods is avant garde, and to buy American is not cool.

Our government, instead of encouraging Americans to buy American-made products and structuring trade in such a way that would assure our position of dominance as to production and accumulation and retention of capital, is forcing our greatest corporations, our titans of industry, to restructure and downsize, while at the same time encouraging and paving the way for more foreign investments in the United States. Foreign firms and investors now own over $17 trillion of American assets. When America attains Third World status, then we will have a long time to regret what we are doing now.

ALBERT ZIMMER, Patton, Mo.