Living in the age of the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression has me thinking. I’ve read a lot in the last two years about people blaming the government, big banks, credit card companies, and Wall Street for the economic crash. When do we stop blaming everyone else and start taking a hard look at ourselves We are the ones that have lived beyond our means since the end of World War II. Buying houses we can’t afford, charging things we don’t need and don’t have the cash to buy, keeping up with the Joneses . When do we, as citizens of this country and of the world, take responsibility for our part in the crash of the World economy? Before World War II, people lived in small houses that they could afford and they were happy. People saved to buy furniture and go on vacation and buy a car. They sat down at night with their children and ate together,talked together, shared their lives.
When did we, as a people, become so discontented with our lives that the only way, if only fleetingly, that we could feel good was to go shopping, buy a fancier car, a bigger house, stop cooking and spending time with our families to work non-stop to try and stay ahead of the bills. When did all the values that we, as a nation, have held dear since our birth over 200 years ago become obsolete?
I see some people now thinking ,as I am, about changing their lives, going back to the ways of our parents and grandparents. People are saving again, paying with cash, haunting thrift stores, growing gardens, cooking meals at home and reliving those wonderful evenings at the dinner table talking to their children, catching up on their days. I’m glad to see the changes but I wonder, will they last? Or, will we go back to the old ways…..will we once again start to think that what we have isn’t good enough, big enough, or fancy enough? I hope not. With responsibility comes joy, a simpler way of living, a re-connecting with family and friends, a slowing down of the frenetic life that we, as Americans, have lived for far too long. And that, is this humble Americans opinion.
Chris Schultz
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