Yes, we all know that our economy is covered in a pile of dung. The politicians can't come right out and tell you how bad it really is because that would release the wolves and the stock market would go from skittish to full on panic. So, every other day we hear how the economy has recovered and that everything is going back to good. How many of you believe that? Please, raise your hand, if you believe our economy has taken a turn for the better, that good times are right around the corner. I'm not saying that the government should step out and tell us the whole scary truth, and I'm not trying to be a jerk by telling you to take a peek out from under the covers of your blanket named Woobie. I'm just telling you that I'm frightened. I can't hear them, but I can feel the presence of the monsters in the closet and I don't have a Woobie.
Not being able to hear the monsters, is the most distressing part. I can't hear them, but I know they're there. Imagine the quietest place you can imagine. Can you hear the deafening silence? I can hear this ringing sort of silence in my workplace. I can hear the silence on the streets. I can hear the silence in my city. I can hear, what I can't hear, and it scares the beejeebees out of me.
My friends try to assuage my fears by reminding me that I am better off than most people. I presently have a job, I have always lived beneath my material means, and I was saving when saving wasn't cool. So, maybe I had a Woobie all the time, and didn't know it.
I realize the monster was not created by a single entity, person or politician. We live in an unsustainable environment upon which lots of people are dependent. All this finger pointing is not going to fix a problem, but having been a good steward with my own money and choices, I am NOW inclined to agree with a British woman who was in line in front of me while visiting the Natural History Museum in London.
This was my first trip abroad, and I knew there was (and still remains) anti-American inclinations most everywhere in the World, so I was not shocked when this woman began to talk about how Americans were to blame for the economic downfall and had we not piled our houses and garages with mounds of "stuff," the world would not be in this mess. I could feel the rise of protective nationalism rising in me, and I was thinking of informing her that not only did I NOT have a garage, but that I didn't even have a driveway. I wanted to tell her how I have to park on the curb and how my last car (which I drove for at least eight years and likely ten) was the victim of a hit and run while parked on the curb. I wanted to tell her how I live beneath my means and save and preach to other people to do the same, But, I didn't say any of that, because I agreed with her on the most basic level. America's dependence on debt is a problem. A huge problem. And, it is now a very complex problem. A problem so complex, that it has created a ripple effect and is touching the lives of people who think they should go unscathed by the consequences of other people's choices. I was one of those people, hoping to get through this situation solely depending on my existing well built foundation. Unfortunately, wishing doesn't make it so and my Woobie can't protect me from the extraneous ramifications poignantly related to personal relationships.
The bad news has trickled down to everyday life. The upheaval of jobs has meant the upheaval of long-term co-worker, friend and family relationships. People are losing jobs and seeking employment. But these are no longer other people, strangers if you will, they are our people, our friends, our relatives. Our people are on the move, searching for new Woobies, leaving those of us "lucky" enough to stay behind ... looking for something to fill the deafening silence falling down the rabbit hole. Who knew that silence could be so loud?
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As much as I like to blame America for a lot, I know that the clutter junk credit spending phenomina is a bi-product of the entire western world. It probably originated with us Europeans attacking and conquering other civilisations to build our empires and take what is not ours.
ReplyDeleteWhen I studied politics at uni, a lecturer once made an analogy to European political systems and America. He said something along the lines that we are older, more sophisticated, and yes set in our ways, bad habits and pompous. America is the testosterone teenager of the political world, not having reached the level of maturity and experience that it needs which is unfortunate as the young take the stage. Its an interesting analogy. Maybe flawed, maybe not. Makes me think of these other new worlds and new political systems out there such as Australia. They do things so differently.
War is the problem and lack of humanity.
Jasmine, I believe your professor was correct, we Americans, as a "whole," do behave like teenagers. It has been 80 years since the Great Depression of 1929, and those who experienced that period of time learned the lesson, but their children and grandchildren apparently forgot it. I hope the harshness of this recent collapse will serve as a reminder to maintain a proper balance in life and to take responsibility for ourselves. Finger pointing in this country has right to go both ways. People borrowed money they could not afford and Lenders loaned out other peoples money without exercising good judgment. Our reckoning day is here.
ReplyDeletePeople as a rule are selfish animals with selective memories. We are also victims of our poiticians. So much happens without the knowledge or consent of the everyday people. Greed!
ReplyDelete