Hope is beautiful unless it is fantasy, in which case it can be ugly. You and I have struggled through years of this recession with promises that keep our hopes alive. To some extent our hopes have been rewarded. To a larger extent though our hopes tied with the government have languished.
Literally, millions of Americans live financially one day at a time. My intent here is to write about individual hope that things will get better. If the projections are right that it will be several more years before economic recovery takes hold, it is going to be up to each of us to find the strength to carry on. Hopefully we can each join with family, friends and colleagues to form our own safety-nets and personalized economic programs.
There is a place for government support. I would say to those who preach that doomsday is ahead under socialist trends to give back their Social Security and Medicare checks. Also don't drive on our collectively owned roads, don't send your kids to our collectively owned schools and don't mail your letters through our collectively owned postal service. I would also enlist your own arsenal to protect yourself because it is hypocritical of you to rely on our brave men and women in the armed services while you denounce the essence of their communal brotherhood.
There is a place for individual toughness too, especially now that our backs are against the wall. We can wait to see if the government will kick in, but I suggest doing otherwise. I suggest we must as a nation of individuals find now the inner strength to keep going, place one foot in front of the other and instill individual heartfelt hope that we will prevail and we will never give up.
Many people are angry these days. Under different circumstances they might be nicer or more patient. But I don't think being complainers is going to help us as much as keeping on keeping on. If you can't find a job, keep trying or try to reinvent yourself. Pay your bills on time as best as you can. If you have a job, hang in there even as tired as you are from working harder for the same or less pay.
When this recession passes the upper class will have their stories, perhaps about having had to cut back on vacations during this period.
The working class, you and me, will have our stories too about the grace under pressure we exhibited each and every day. That is a lifelong lesson money can't buy.
Good luck with sales today at your job. If you're out of work or looking for a second job, good luck today in finding a good fit.