The Upside to The Recession
Yes the economy is nearing all time historic lows . . . we know that . . . it’s been drilled into our minds by every cable news network ”talking-head” and ratings-hungry radio-mouth. I must admit everytime the job losses reports come in from the federal government it can be unnerving for those who both have a job and are dearly holding onto it, and to those who are feverishly hustling to find employment once again in a bearish job-market whose hibernation seems to have only begun. The fear is real and palpable. You can see it draped over the faces of people as they commute to work only to arrive home to houses that are filled with relatives and friends who have lost their jobs and need to move in with them to make ends meet. Families are getting creative . . . homes and apartments now resemble sardine cans full of people that can no longer afford their way of life . . . sadly many without supportive family walking the streets homeless, living out of their cars or worse. The shadow of The Great Depression looms over this nation like an ominous anvil cloud and those of the lower and middle class definitely can hear the peals of thunder in the coming distance.
If you remove the layers of fear, angst, and insecurity that this current recession has spawned within so many hearts, there is an upside to all of this that I believe the media is missing. America for the first time since The Great Depression is learning to conserve money and energy. They are looking for power-buys that lengthen their tight-fisted dollar over their seemingly shrinking weekend . . . they’re even being conscious of their travel patterns, walking more often, using public transportation, bikes, or the once-maligned and ridiculed car-pooling system as means to cope with high gas prices. Wherever you go the monetary squeeze is in full effect but this is not the most important aspect of the upside to this recession.
Now unemployed fathers and mothers all across America who were laid off from their jobs are now realizing that they actually have a family, that all that overtime that bought them all those wonderful things that they can’t afford now can’t buy the time that they lost away from their loved ones. Children may not have all the up-to-date things that daddy or mommy’s overtime used to afford them but now they have something far better than that . . . a sense of togetherness that would have never been realized if the recession did not directly hit their home.
Next time around, when this recession ends and the overtime and Christmas bonuses return, when the Gross Domestic Product resurrects to her once-glorious self, may we all remember this time when the recession plucked us out of our comfy jobs and forced us to spend more time with our family then our workaholic selves were used to. Shame on us for having to realize this at this tough time in American history.
People of America: do yourself a favor. After your job searches online or cashing your unemployment checks . . . go hug your son, daughter, wife, and husband . . . and tell them that you love them and then prove it to them by spending the most important stimulus check you can ever get . . . the high-yielding currency of some quality time together . . .
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