Have you ever worn an American T-shirt? It’s truly special. They are very comfortable, very good quality, and no matter how much you wash them they remain just as beautiful and colorful. They refuse to deteriorate. I received many T-shirts from my sister, and other Americans I helped interpret for, and for me they became a symbol of this country. And wearing them all summer long I often times ask myself: “Do people over there really appreciate their quality?” I grew up just like my sister under the curse of communism. The color of our outfits was usually really dark green, grey and black, and made almost 100% out of polyester. In my teen years, though I discovered the American T-shirts made out of cotton, in pretty colors like red, white and blue. I loved them instantly. And who wouldn’t love them? Who wouldn’t choose cotton versus polyester? We dreamed for so many years of a better life…of clothes made out of cotton… They are here now…but too pricy for the common Romanian. It remains a nice temptation in the stores’ display, an image we get from watching American movies. Ohhh… and the people here would really treasure those T-shirts if they had them…

After 16 years from the revolution we still have not tasted true freedom, like you have there. We just witness the political games, hoping that one day things will get better, and closer to a true version of democracy. How can you not remember the founders of America, and how can you not desire with your entire being the same principles and freedoms this country was built upon? How can you not wish to have a little bit from the “American dream”? How can you not want the American T-shirt? QUALITY is the key word here. The difference between cotton and polyester. The composition can’t be modified. It’s GREAT the way it is. It just needs to be treasured and appreciated, just like it is appreciated and valued by those who know the difference.

A very famous sentence keeps going through my mind. J.F. Kennedy said: “Don’t ask what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This is what I would tell your friends: “It’s time for authentic internal transformation, it’s time we get rid of all the lies and excuses, it’s time we care about others, and it’s time for us to go to work and make a true impact on each other.”

It’s almost fall now, and I’m still wearing an American T-shirt. I wear it with pride. It reminds me of my sister and a country whose values I respect tremendously because with my little child’s eyes I saw the hell on earth in the absence of them. And I am going to wear it until it’s all torn, if that will ever happen.

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