A Convenient Exaggeration - Reprise

Some of you haven't seen this, so happy reading and happy thoughts!

A Convenient Exaggeration
The economy is in a tailspin! Worst drop on Wall Street in recorded history! Recession! The headlines, both in print and in cyberspace have been waving like large red flags, semaphores of caution and fear. Ever since 9/11, fear has been a part of all our lives. The safety net of living in a wealthy, secure country has been yanked from beneath us and below that net the jagged rocks of reality loom.
I remember – doesn’t everyone ? – how I felt when that net was pulled away. I recall feeling so helpless when I realized that not only had thousands of lives been lost, hearts broken, but that the economy was going to suffer too. The media had a heyday. They kept stating emphatically that the economy was going into recession, hammering this into our brains, invading our living rooms and places of work with their barrage of bad news and there was nothing, nothing we could do about it.
I have since realized that this is utter and complete nonsense. The world did change that day. What happened was something I can only pray will never happen again, but the financial outcome was not pre-determined. We made it happen by enabling, listening to the online and printed media until, through repetition and sheer erosion of our optimism and spirits, we believed. We hunkered down as if for a natural disaster and caused our own financial catastrophe by not spending wisely, ditching our investments and general panic. Not only individuals but corporations made foolish, short-sighted decisions, like outsourcing call center positions to foreign countries.
What has been the result of the panic? Something worth panicking for. A self-fulfilling prophecy of the most ridiculous kind. Now, seven years later, we are facing another economic crisis, this one propelled not by terror and tragedy, but another string of bad decisions. The real estate boom turned into a fragile bubble, because people couldn’t plan their finances far enough in advance. Chickens were counted that had never planned on hatching. We should have started to rely on a renewable combustion source for our vehicles, but instead we wasted what we had and purchased larger, less fuel-efficient modes of transportation.
So are we doomed again? Do we have no choice but to bow under the load of the inevitable? Have the media and the circumstances we find ourselves in taken away our free agency? Our right to choice a better life? Has the American Dream died in the ashes and rubble beneath the twin towers, in the shadows of foreclosed homes, in the eyes of the newly unemployed?
No! I am no economist, so maybe someone like me is the right person to wave my own flag, but not the red flag of warning or the white of surrender. This doesn’t have to be our future. We are not destined for weakness.
The many news stories, articles and blogs of hard times have much less true backing than the newsmakers would have you believe. What they are positing is not pure truth but, to paraphrase Mr. Gore, a convenient exaggeration. Convenient for Big Media because it brings viewers and adds readership. It doesn’t have to. Life simply doesn’t have to conform to television.
We can sacrifice, save and get out of all credit card debt. We can invest wisely, not paying attention to the doomsday financial prophecies, but instead making measured, long-term decisions and holding on to companies we believe in. We can stop watching the news, except for select programs we trust and quickly scan the highlights. We do not need to let the media tell us what to believe. Never again do we want to allow someone else to tell us that there is no hope.
There is hope! If we all decide as a group, as a united country, regardless of current economic status, political or religious affiliation, to unite in positive thought, responsible actions, we can succeed. Getting out of debt is not impossible. Learning to live within or below your means doesn’t have to be dull. Investing wisely and believing in your choices doesn’t have to be a pipe dream. We can tell all the naysayers, talking heads and people who would divide us, those who would draw gender, racial and party lines and order us to stay behind them, that we have had enough. We are done. We will spend wisely to stimulate the economy, we will make smart investments, responsible environmental choices. We do have power to change our reality. We don’t have to support companies who outsource their employees to other countries. We can buy local goods and services. If gas prices rise and take their toll, we can buy bicycles or walk and then invest in the very sporting goods and shoe companies that help us run our day-to-day errands.
We don’t have to be militant nor extreme. All we need is the common sense we seem to have lost with that safety net we now miss. All we need is the unity we had in crisis seven years ago. We can reclaim it through joy rather than tragedy. We can simply move forward with hope for the future, with a plan to become fiscally sound and environmentally aware.
As for myself, I refuse point blank to stare sadly and passively at a glowing media screen, taking in daily doses of despair. I will push away from the table when served a dish of despondency. I will not blind my eyes to reality, but will deal with facts, not hype. I am taking charge of my own wallet and am politely asking the media to let go of it. I never gave them permission to even hold my purse, let alone spend my money. It is time for a better truth, a better way. I am building my own net. You are invited to join me, but rest assured I will build it alone, cheerfully, if no one joins me.
America, here’s to hope. That’s a better truth. Pretty convenient, too.