Re-cession, Re-examination

The words “Change” and “Maverick” dominated the airwaves and rang in our ears in the weeks leading up to the Election. But over the last few weeks in the land of buzz words and pop-culture phraseology, there’s a new sheriff in town – Recession.

Ever since the polls closed in November with no hanging chads to be found and America named a new President, the word taking up residence in the headlines and bottom-of-the-TV-tickers starts with “Re” and ends with “Cession.” As America struggles to precisely define the cause of such a recession as well as its scope, many continue to sink deeper and deeper in despair. In the midst of such a desperate slide, people look back at the Great Depression and search for similarities while at the same time straining to look forward and speculate just how bad it will get.

While many continue to debate if this is merely the financial version of Y2K – all bark and no bite – or the real arrival of economic anorexia for our generation; let’s not panic quite yet.
First, we are a group of people obsessed with comparisons and with a passion for labeling everything as “the modern ________” or the “next _________.” Let’s wait to cross bridges if and when we get to them.

Secondly, while there are certainly some industries and groups of people who are hurting worse than others, and for those groups we mourn, for many this time is simply causing a return from complete and utter excess to a more normal existence. Maybe the yacht or the vacation home is lying a little more dormant than usual; maybe public transportation is now a more common occurrence; maybe dining in makes more sense than taking-out.

Not for all, but for many these times simply mean less “stuff” and Lord knows that might be good for you and I. Perhaps during these times, one will have to begin counting their blessings and riches that aren’t as tangible – things like freedom, family, health, and love. But when looked at that way – aren’t those things we can’t touch, can’t claim on our taxes, really what matters?