I’m not a forester nor am I a wood worker of any kind.  However, I know that there are certain woods that are used for certain purposes.  They’re used for their beauty, strength and, in the case of musical instruments, their tonal qualities in addition to the other attributes.

Guitars are no exception.  In fact, I suggest that use of some of the more exotic woods by luthiers are what makes guitars such stunningly beautiful works of art as well as to create that certain sound that the musician is looking for.  To the less discriminating ear, one doesn’t notice those differences in sound.  However, to the musician and audiophile, those differences are immediately noticeable and profound.

Last week, the federal government raided the Memphis and Nashville factories of legendary guitar manufacturer, Gibson Guitar.  The short version of the story is that the feds raided the plants because Gibson Guitar allegedly was making guitars using illegally acquired Indian wood.  The Nashville plant was raided once before in 2009 over the same allegations and Gibson has reportedly been cooperating with the authorities.

There are lots of excellent, well researched articles out there that are easily found via your favorite search engine so I won’t borrow from their hard work.  They stand quite well on their own so please do read them to form your own opinion.

Among those articles, you find plain Jane reporting of the facts as the reporters received them from one or both sides.  Some accounts may very well imply that Gibson Guitar is guilty as sin.  You’ll also find Gibson’s legendary CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, presenting a bold a vigorous rebuke of the Justice Department’s actions without charges being filed.  Still other articles are alleging that the raid was politically motivated since at least one other guitar manufacturer is using the same exact kinds of wood but also happens to be a donor to various partisan political campaigns.  And still more articles detail just how bizarre and open to abuse and misinterpretation the laws in question are and how just about anyone with a guitar – even a guitar almost 100 years old made of those now illegal woods – could be busted by our formerly rich Uncle Sam for violating those laws.

Heck if I know if Gibson has violated any laws or if those laws are to janky to properly interpret or if the raids are politically motivated!  Like most people, it would be very easy for me to want to believe the worst of either Gibson or our government.  However, I have to take a step or two back and see if my Spidey sense can kick in and help me view this whole thing objectively.  After doing so, here’s what I boil it down to:

Let’s suppose that Gibson knowingly acquired and used illegal wood in their plants. If that’s the case then Mr. Juskiewicz (or anyone in his company who would have been aware of the wood’s acquisition) should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law (assuming that reasonable minds can interpret those laws).  My question is: What were the other federal agencies who are in charge of protecting our borders and inspecting imports doing when those shipments hit our ports?  I would think that the pant load of money (over $700 billion) that was supposed to stimulate jobs would have gone to jobs that would more adequately protect our borders and inspect all the boat loads of stuff entering our ports from other countries.

After all, isn’t that what our government is supposed to be doing?  Just wonderin’ . . .