Keep Perspective

My dad turns 80 this year. That means he lived through the Great Depression. He tells stories of soup lines and having nothing to eat but the beets his dad "borrowed" from the neighbor's garden. Did I mention Dad turns 80 this year? Dad and Mom both lived through those bleak years and continue to enjoy fruitful and fulfilling lives.

In 1985, Sally and I moved out of Riverton, WY, adding our house to the over 500 others that were on the market in sparsely populated Fremont County. As you may recall, mortgage interest rates then hovered around 15-18%. Hundreds of homeowners had no choice but to default on their home loans and simply walk away. Nearly 40% of the population of that county moved out because of the closing of the uranium mines and steel mill. Our realtor had not had a home sale in months and said we would need a miracle to sell our newly constructed home. By God's grace it sold within two months for cash. Here we are 24 years later alive and well. The situation looked dire, but we survived.

These days we are hearing that we are in the midst of the worse financial crisis since the Great Depression. Hundreds of thousands are losing jobs, bankruptcies are spiraling out of control and Washington can't print and spend money fast enough in its frenetic attempt to stop the bleeding. Each day brings new headlines of economic woe. Sure, it can be depressing to hear constant drumming of negative headlines. Anyone with a retirement account has watched it evaporate. It is hard not to worry.

But, whenever I catch myself giving in to fear and worry, I step back and recall. We've been through stuff like this before. We got through it then and we'll get through it now. Having survived withdrawal from our consumer addiction and the false security of our materialism, we'll likely be wiser, more thrifty and more God aware. That's a good thing.

Keep perspective. We're going to get through this just fine.

What a Moment!

We have witnessed a seminal moment of change. Who can deny that the inauguration of Barack Obama marks a massive cultural shift? Politics aside, the American people have taken a giant leap forward in living out the proposition that all men are created equal. People of good will are celebrating the significance of this moment world wide. Only those who are so ideologically driven that they can only marinate in the soreness of their recent loss refuse to embrace it.

Of course, all men created equal means all of us can be misguided and make mistakes. Barack Obama will not escape the scrutiny that all leaders must face. If he is wise he will encourage honest dissent and listen to opinions different from his own. If dissenters are wise they will offer their views with respect refusing to engage in the old tactics of mean spirited personal smears. I have a feeling that many of those who insist upon being curmudgeon critics will be ignored and crowded out of the public debate. I know I have resolved to avoid them. I no longer find them to be helpful or funny.

Can You See It Happening?

Reports out of Detroit today tell us that the auto makers are featuring electric and hybrid cars at the annual new models show. Even the Chinese have rolled out their version. It is enough to make an oil tycoon get indigestion. Another report in today's Wall Street Journal informs us that the part of President Elect Obama's economic recovery plan that focuses on job creation is going to focus on environmental and alternative energy innovation. Well, we'll see...

I do think, however, that we are turning a corner. I'm beginning to believe that the human race is making one of those major adjustments it makes every once in a while when it realizes that what it has been doing is counter productive and perilous to civilization. Much the same as happened when sovereign monarchies gave way to democracies in the West. Or, when an economy based on slave labor gave way to freedom and worker's rights movements. Or, when women were given the right to vote. Or, when smoking lost its status as an accepted social practice. When was the last time you saw a cigarette vending machine? They used to be everywhere, as were ashtrays. I think we are witnessing the final days of polluting fossil fuels as the primary energy source.

Obviously, this will not be a process that is completed overnight, but it is underway and gaining momentum. Any progress we can make toward cleaner energy sources that do not spew carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphuric acid and etc., into the environment has to be a good thing. Conservatives, traditionalists and naysayers will do what they always do, oppose change. Politicians and profiteers will do what they always do to muck things up. But I believe that Providence is right now dragging us kicking and screaming toward this very necessary change that will prove to be good for everyone.

Pretty soon the air will be clear enough that we'll be able to see it happening.