Three cheers for Ralph Lauren and the U.S. Olympic Committee. They just gave the country a potent dose of reality.

When ordering this year’s national team uniforms for the July 27 opening ceremonies in London , they did what every smart athletic organization and clothing designer would do — they ordered them from China. Why? Because things made in China cost less than things made in America. Public relations aside, can we blameLauren for the decision? Why would any rational organization pay more for something than it has to?

Sure, the team uniform revelation is humiliating. But maybe it’s just the sour medicine the doctor prescribed for us. Because face it, we’re all guilty of doing the same thing. Who among us can cast a stone in a kitchen or bathroom without striking something manufactured in the Middle Kingdom? I can’t even bang out these words without committing a transgression against my countrymen. (Are any computer keyboards still made in the United States?) Yet I, too, took preposterous umbrage at this Olympic sartorial slight.

That’s the thing with us Americans. We want it all, and for a while we had it. We want inexpensive consumer goods — and high wages. We want cheap gas, but as little domestic drilling as possible. Our social programs should be robust and our tax rates low. We hate ourCongress, yet, nine times out of 10, we re-elect our congressman. Literally.

buy Pregabalin online uk The rest of this column is available at Newsday Westchester.  Thanks for reading.