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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 9, 1992                   TAG: 9202100187
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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IF CHIPS DOWN, EASY TO BLAME SOMEONE ELSE

LIKE A PRAIRIE fire, I fear America's newest craze - Japan-bashing - will spread, leaving in its aftermath the charred waste of years of effort to build a healthy competitive climate in which both the West and the East could prosper.

When the chips are down, it is easy to blame someone else for our woes. But let's step back and view our position more calmly. Unless we exercise collective maturity and restraint, we will become victims of a mentality identical to that of Germany in 1933.

Having lived in Japan, I know the Japanese to be artistic, courteous and competitive; they are also cooperative, industrious and fun-loving. If they have a weakness, it is the same as ours: that of trusting a government (influenced by big business) that can no longer be trusted to hold the interests of the mainstream uppermost.

If Americans drive Japanese cars and own Japanese-made televisions and cameras, it's because Japanese products are superior. Is that the fault of the Japanese? Is that un-American? Should we buy American simply because it is American? Of course not. Because our money comes hard, we buy the best product at the best price. It's as simple as that.

I have infinite faith in America. This faith is founded on our ability to rebound if and when we think it important.

I also believe we are big enough to recognize that if we have become a second-rate nation, we did it to ourselves. The Japanese have taken nothing we weren't willing to give; they have bought nothing we weren't willing to sell. RODNEY A. FRANKLIN ROANOKE

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