We are all so busy doing our everyday activities that most of us fail to notice whats going on around us that doesnt immediately affect us. And much of it is and will be commercial real estate. One sad error we are guilty of is being forced to elect someone to represent our best interests. Back in the old days (your great-grandfather) each inhabitant was invited to a monthly town meeting and had an equal vote. However, as the populations exploded, even the town meetings went out the window because there were no buildings big enough to hold that many people - so representatives were elected. And so on and so forth. Recently, it came to the attention of very few people that China is beginning to invest in the United States. One quiet purchase is Smithfield Foods. It is the largest pork producer and processor in the world. It has facilities in 26 states and employs tens of thousands of Americans. It directly owns 460 farms and has contracts with approximately 2,100 others, and that means that the Chinese will now be the most important employer in dozens of rural communities all over America. Last year a Chinese company spent $2.6 billion to purchase AMC entertainment - one of the largest movie theater chains in the United States. Now a Chinese company controls more movie ticket sales than anyone else in the world. Golden Dragon recently broke ground on a $100 million plant in Thomasville, AL. Many of the residents in the area will be glad to have jobs but it will also become another community that will now be heavily dependent on Communist China. Pretty soon China may want to build entire cities in the United States just like they have been doing in other countries. Right now China is actually building a city larger than Manhattan just outside Minsk, the capital of Belarus. China is now the number one producer of wind and solar power on the entire Globe. Want to hear more? Not really. Those of you who recall studying history in school remember a dictator named Adolf Hitler who decided he wanted to rule the world. He decided to do it by building a strong army and overthrowing all governments, and succeeded until he messed with the USA who was just feebly coming out of a terrible depression that had lasted over ten years. England was 4 days from surrendering when the USA was pushed into the war - and the rest is history. China is smarter and has decided to buy what they want - not take it. So what is the answer for us small citizens who think we have something to say about how our country is run? We do own the country, you know. The answer? Humbly learn to speak Chinese.
Roland Hopkins is founder of the NEREJ, Norwell, Mass.
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