We're In It Now

There are seminal moments when what we once thought life was like no longer holds true. The givens and guideposts that led us through our mundane lives no longer apply after certain catastrophic events. For all who live through these moments a new anxiety and a new reality replace the calmness that we always took for granted.

A cursory look quickly reveals such events. For those dwindling in number, Pearl Harbor would be one of the first of these historical posts. The grimness and fear that had gripped much of the world finally caught up to America on that fateful December 7th day. Not until the end of hostilities in 1945, did the country begin to sigh in relief.

Sputnik in 1957 opened the curtain to an earth which might be controlled from outer space. Kennedy's assassination ended a new age of innocence and ushered in uncertainty that paralyzed an entire generation of young folk. Watergate led to a disdain for all things political and those who practiced such. Obviously, 9/11 brought the age of terror to America's shores and it could be that unconsciously, a vote for Obama could be seen as a wish to end the world of fear that has become associated with the Bush administration's response to bin Laden.

But not all changes happen so suddenly. Like a pot of soup slowly coming to full boil, it takes awhile to realize that the world we once knew will never return. The supremacy of suburbia and a new host of values took root in the 1950's. There really was no one event that triggered this change. Instead, returning veterans flush with the GI Bill, interstate highways leading away from urban centers, and the new medium of television beaming pictures of a new "reality", combined to create a world of Levittowns being built in what were once far flung pastures.

Today, a change has come. It has to do with greed. Banks freed from government controls, lusted after the common man's money, and began issuing all types of new loan combinations, putting people in dream homes that they were not economically prepared to handle. As these homes gained in value, some "flipped" them for quick profits while others took out "equity" to buy the latest gas guzzling SUV. And just as these loans were called in another crisis hit our shores - the slow but steady rise in gasoline prices. Economists warned that a tipping point would be reached if gas hit $3 a gallon. Others said $3.50 would be fatal. Well whatever the consensus, gas is over $4.00 everywhere. (Hey, here in SoCal we are paying over $4.50.)

This combination of a housing meltdown and incredibly high fuel prices are changing the face of our country. This is one of those seminal moments! Unemployment is creeping up, good paying jobs are becoming scarce, foreclosures are on a
steep rise and what we once took for granted is no longer so. The American dream has become a nightmare for many and many more might be joining this bad dream in the near future.

Work hard and then what? Will health insurance be there when needed? What is the use in purchasing a car if one can't afford the petro? If one is to go on vacation, one better travel light as the charges for checked baggage become more costly.

America has ridden through hard economic times before - the Panic of the 1890's, the Great Depression of the 1930's, and the morass of the 1970's. In every instance, our system prevailed and we pulled through. There is no doubt that we will make it through this mess as well. But many will be hurt by current situations and when all is said and done, scars will be left on those who lived through these times. Go find anyone eighty-five or older and ask them what motivated them to hard work and frugality and in almost all cases they will respond - The Great Depression.