US vs. Mexico

I woke up an hour early this morning because of my husband's restless tossing. And he was up a full hour early because, once again, there were rumors of new layoffs, furloughs, etc. coming up. It seems inhuman to have to keep going through this every two or three weeks. I wonder how many people have gotten sick just off the stress of this economy.
So yeah, it's going to be kind of hard to be an optimist today.
There is a bright spot, though. The US national soccer team won its World Cup qualifying match against Mexico. (Here's a game recap.)

The 2-0 win, which I caught part of while making supper, was made all the sweeter by the fact that it was in spite of the voodoo magic Blockbuster encouraged people to use against the US team.

Yes, that's correct. Voodoo. Promoted by an American company against it's own countrymen.
Apparently Blockbuster made a deal to use its Mexico City stores to sell little voodoo likenesses of US players, complete with red, white and blue colors and the word "Gringo" on the back. (Read about it here.) Most news outlets treated it as a kind of cutesy story. Ooh look. Voodoo dolls. You stick pins in them. But it's all good-natured rivalry.)

But I was kind of offended. First of all, you'd never, ever, under any circumstances be able to sell dolls representing Mexican players to stick pins into. No one would think of it as good-natured rivalry. It would be bigotry, and rightly so.

But even if you could...even if you could, this is the World Cup we're talking about. If there's any time you should be supporting your own country--or even just pretending out of politeness--it would be the World Cup. Instead, we have a company that says one thing to its American customers, then goes across the border and makes a quick buck helping people wish for American defeat. What's the next step, selling effigy figures ready-made for burning during an overseas protest? I doubt a big Italian firm like Parmalat could get away with something like this. Something tells me if they tried, they'd find a lot of their boxes of milk dumped out in the streets the next day.

Blockbuster's attitude pretty much sums up what's been wrong with the direction of this country. Corporations begin to think of themselves as bigger than the country they're in. They get arrogant and start thinking that their good fortune is unrelated to the prosperity of those around them. And the next thing you know...well, you get them selling voodoo dolls and hoping for embarrassment and defeat for the home team.

Sad, so sad. But wait! Here's an idea!
What makes people buy voodoo dolls in the first place? A wish for some kind of power where you truly have none. So--I'm beginning to see my next career here--wouldn't there be a big US market right now for voodoo dolls relating to the economy? The defeat of Mexico shows Blockbuster's magic is weak. Maybe there are better sorcerers out there who could step in where the stock market has failed. I'd be happy to get out my sewing machine and whip up a few dolls for, let's say, $9.99 apiece.
Hedge fund manager anyone?

If you want a great soccer cheerer upper, watch this video on YouTube. Sorry I can't embed it here.