I put a few gallons of gas in the car of an older man who offered to wash my car windows this week as his wife quietly sat in the passenger seat with her eyes lowered. Who is saying the economy is rebounding any day now?
Life feels familiar because we have been here before in the stories around the dinner table as our parents recounted life growing up in the shadow of the Great Depression. Friends and family lived together then and formed a tight huddle, pooled their resources, and rode it out. But livelihoods were sacrificed, and property and lives. It was a time when all Americans were reduced to a level playing field and those who could help understood the humanity in it.
After that, our government established coping systems should it happen again. Flash forward to 2009 and these systems are bursting at the seams trying to keep up with an economy rocketing out of control. We don't see the depth of the problem because the systems are already in place and invisible. I know folks living in their car, who lost their home and business, and many more friends/family who are out of work. Are these times as dire as the 1930s? I know we're being fed propaganda that our economy is on the cusp of a rebound and we should hang on for reinforcements. Like the Alamo.
Maybe seeing those long breadlines and children sleeping in doorways is exactly what we need to kickstart this country into quitting its gripefest and unifying with a common goal. It doesn't matter who's in the hot seat: there are serious issues in play and we need direction and help. How about if everyone puts their bipartisanship aside and throw themselves into a fix for that?
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