So Where Is America Really Headed?

[DisneyTN]

This is a portion from an editorial which was published in my local newspaper this past Friday (9/19/08). It is a very powerful, uplifting message that I believe we all need to absorb. With all that is going on in our country and with our economy these days, I hope this passage can bring a bit of hope to those who need it.

"Many are calling this the worst financial crisis since the Depression, and that is troubling indeed. So why be optimistic? Why see the glass as half full, not half empty? Because history shows we come through these down times and rebound stronger than ever. We came back from the Depression. We survived World War II. We stared down the Russians over nuclear arms. We got through Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement when all looked hopeless. During the gas shortage of the 1970s we coped and adjusted. When interest rates skyrocketed to more than 20 percent in the late 1970s, we turned it around. So too shall we fix this. There are differences this time from previous times, to be sure, but the banking system and world financial markets are better able to handle the down times when they come because of safeguards. In the United States, deposits in banks of $100,000 or less are federally insured. Investments are tricky, but investments are for the long haul, not short-term. People's portfolios are hurting, but given time they should come back. History shows that when the economy slumps, it rebounds. Granted this slump seems more serious than others, but unless you have lost faith in America, you should wait this out. There are some encouraging signs even in shaky times. It's hard to stay positive these days, but it is imperative that we do. The United States isn't on the verge of collapse. Our banks are sound and our deposits protected. Many companies are doing well. Innovation is still rewarded. And we have two presidential candidates who really do seem committed to making fundamental changes in how this country operates.
There is much to be happy about. Be realistic, but don't be scared."


Source of the article passage:
The Mountain Press. Friday, September 19, 2008. Page A7. Editor: Stan Voit

 

[Barbossa]

We will certainly recover from this, hopefully without too many people getting ruined financially. Hopefully we'll learn from this and prevent it from happening again. Alas, boom-bust cycles do seem to be an economic reality.

 

[CBoysMomLovesDisney]

thanks for posting. this is the most uplifting thing i've read in weeks.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Great post!!

 

[SteveInBrooklyn]

We've had a moron at the wheel for 8 years ( I voted for him in 2004, so I take part of the blame) and as a result, our economy is in a shambles and the war on terror is an utter failure. The stock market has tanked, the dollar is a joke, major financial institutions are going under, banks are failing. On the foreign relations front, taliban is still killing our boys, bin Laden and Zawahiri are running around free, we are bogged down in Iraq, our military is stretched to a breaking point and our credibility is at an all-time low. Things are not looking good, but we brought this on ourselves.

 

[Mr Man]

We've had a moron at the wheel for 8 years ( I voted for him in 2004, so I take part of the blame) and as a result, our economy is in a shambles and the war on terror is an utter failure. The stock market has tanked, the dollar is a joke, major financial institutions are going under, banks are failing. On the foreign relations front, taliban is still killing our boys, bin Laden and Zawahiri are running around free, we are bogged down in Iraq, our military is stretched to a breaking point and our credibility is at an all-time low. Things are not looking good, but we brought this on ourselves.

So........I'm thinking this is one of those "glass half-empty" things I hear so much about.

Luckily, this too shall pass.

 

[DisneyTN]

Luckily, this too shall pass.

Exactly.

My Grandfather lived through the Great Depression. As a boy he was told that America "had no future". When the stock market crashed in 1929, almost every American believed that.
During that part of his life, my Grandfather never imagined that his final days would be spent retired in a nice home just minutes from the Gulf of Mexico, during a period of economic strength. Yet that is exactly what happened. He toughed it out through the Depression, lived to see the country rebound, and the economic failures of the 20's and 30's were no more than bad memories.
Like the editorial says:
"unless you have lost faith in America, you should wait this out"

 

[ntsammy5]

We will get through this, but probably not without a lot of pain. How many here lived through the depression, Korea, VietNam, gas shortages of the 70s, huge inflation, credit crunches, large recessions, outrageous interest rates, real estate crisis & S&L problems of the 80 & early 90s. To have lived through all of them as an adult you'd be in your 70s +, to have lived through the vast majority, in your 60s, if you are 40 or younger you only lived through a couple as an adult. I wonder how much appetite for pain this country has? We haven't proven we still have enough guts to tough it out! Not in my opinion.

 

[DisneyTN]

We haven't proven we still have enough guts to tough it out! Not in my opinion.

Perhaps it's time for this generation of Americans to stand up and show the skeptics what we're made of.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Luckily, this too shall pass.

No doubt!

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Perhaps it's time for this generation of Americans to stand up and show the skeptics what we're made of.

That would mean that people would have to actually work...and we can't allow that.

 

[Barbossa]

We've had a moron at the wheel for 8 years ( I voted for him in 2004, so I take part of the blame) and as a result, our economy is in a shambles and the war on terror is an utter failure. The stock market has tanked, the dollar is a joke, major financial institutions are going under, banks are failing. On the foreign relations front, taliban is still killing our boys, bin Laden and Zawahiri are running around free, we are bogged down in Iraq, our military is stretched to a breaking point and our credibility is at an all-time low. Things are not looking good, but we brought this on ourselves.

I couldn't have said this better myself. The past 8 years are the worst I've seen (I'm 48), my mom is 69 and she says it's the worst she's seen. This country will pull out of this, we have too many strengths not to. We do have to be painfully careful, though, in the next decade IMO.