Funny how a free market can still leave us chained to a dumpster. Each shiny “innovation” quietly shortens a product’s life so we’ll line up for the next version. Six‑figure trucks cram lawn‑mower‑sized engines under the hood, twin turbos sizzling while brochures brag about 10 000‑mile oil changes. MPG stats look heroic on paper, yet the real bill ends up in landfills, oil fields, and the financing office long after the tailpipes rust out.
We once bragged about heirloom tools and engines built for half a million miles. Now it’s swipe, ship, toss, repeat, a slow boil that normalizes churn over craftsmanship. Capitalism promised choice; we settled for disposable everything.
Maybe tariff fights are the shock we need to restore pride in making things here at home. We pushed factories offshore and got cheap knock‑offs in return, with our own ideas served back to us for pennies on platforms like China‑Zon (Amazon). I slip into that trap too, but at least I’m awake enough to spot it. Mike Rowe's latest show throws the spotlight on the trades that still build real value. Time to jump out of this scalding bath and fire up the presses again. LOL Maybe Call it MADA: (Make America Durable Again.) I’m reminded of Rosie the Riveter she wasn’t just flexing for a poster; she proved American skill could crank out gear tough enough to win a world war. We need a movement like MADA to tap that same muscle memory: build it right the first time, keep it running, and take pride in work that outlives the warranty instead of dying with the next algorithm-pushed upgrade.
Stop feeding the beast (As my friend Matt says). Buy smart, repair what you own, and keep good gear out of the graveyard (AKA Landfills).