I can't help wondering:
Posted on | October 10, 2008 | 9 Comments
What would our country look like in a Depression now?
If we go into a depression, what will happen to artists–who base their incomes on the production of a commodity that doesn’t fall into the category of “survival”? Would there still be literary magazines? Galleries? Etsy?
If we go into a depression, what will happen to private schools? Will parents still send their children—or will they opt out, out of necessity? And what will happen to public schools as a result? Will they become more overcrowded, further under-funded? Will the tax base stay the same?
If we go into a depression, will we be able walk the fine line between heart’s longing and daily need; between the unquenchable desire to create and the need for an income–the hard-scrabble talk of hungry bellies overriding the thirst for beauty, for words?
Suddenly I’m realizing that my understanding of the Great Depression is based on the vague memories of a high school reading of The Grapes of Wrath. I cannot picture life without the wanton consumerism that drives our culture.
On the radio, I hear newscasters warning that “the holiday season looks gloomy” not because people no longer love each other, or have lost their faith, but because consumers are spending less in stores. It gives me the shivers.
On one hand I think, damn right. We needed this. A shake down, a shift, a change. The bare bristling greed of Wall Street needed to be ripped open, the bandaid of oblivion and status quo ripped off abruptly, the blood loss inevitable. On one hand I think, would it really be so bad if people had to step back from the brink of unrequited want for material things? If they had to scale back, live closer to home, greener by necessity. If gardens, if local produce, if organic, if simple were a way of life necessitated by an unstable economic culture.
But on the other hand, my chest aches imagining. I’m having a baby. My son’s will grow up in this time, and whatever it holds. To be prudent, I’d keep my job, I’d focus on the paycheck, not the yearning. I’d let my view narrow so that my weekends burgeon and my week’s blur, so that need trumps the calling of my heart to write full time, to create. Because is it not unspeakably selfish in such a time for a mama to want this? To want to slip out of the workforce, into a world where word matter, where art matters, even as the world as I know it may be changing, ending, reshaping.
I don’t know.
What I do know is that I have always believed unwaveringly in the Grace that holds my life, and I have no reason to stop believing in it now.
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9 Responses to “I can't help wondering:”
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I am Christina Rosalie
Hello. I'm so happy you've stopped by!
I am a multimedia storyteller, digital strategist, idea starter, stalker of wonder, finder of four leaf clovers, MFA graduate student, and mama of boys. My first book,
will be published by SKIRT! Books in September, 2012.
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October 10th, 2008 @ 7:01 pm
I suppose we will know the answer to that questions when we see how long the recession lasts. If it goes away quickly, people will forget quickly, as well. If years, then we’re in a for a financially ‘gloomy’ ride, but hopefully (as you write), rich experience of gardening, reading, the arts, physical activity, and community.
October 11th, 2008 @ 1:41 am
sis, that really is beautiful, all the thoughts swarming put on paper.
October 11th, 2008 @ 3:36 am
Thoughtful and provocative, your post really makes one think. But keep in mind, they’ve been saying that about every holiday season since forever. I think the country needs the shake-up, wake-up myself, so hopefully it will be a good thing in the end.
October 11th, 2008 @ 10:30 am
You have put into words…wonderfully…what’s been rumbling around my head. While I am truly very sorry for people who are hurting under this economy, and it’s really frightening to think of where we could end up…for many people out there, it might be a good thing. Not that I wish for anyone to go hungry…but doing without the newest iPod or gadget or luxury item isn’t going to hurt anyone. As a family, we’ve been living on the edge for months now, and I don’t wish it on anyone. But it’s definitely helped reshape my priorities and what I view as what’s really necessary.
October 11th, 2008 @ 5:29 pm
i have been thinking of this for days. upon waking and after tucking in at the end of long days of making this is what is left on my mind. how many calendars should i print? will anyone be interested in linen pillows this season? should i look for a workforce job? i ask myself.
but i’m holding on to what my heart says. i think especially in times like these we will hold on to the ideals of the handmade movement. if i can only spend a little i would rather it go directly to the maker, not to the corporate abyss. i would rather it come from the heart.
i hope with every fiber this is true for most of us.
if you decided to self-publish a little book of your words i would surely tuck it into the stocking of a loved one. these things are just as needed as the wool socks and long underwear they’d be wrapped with.
and there would be grace in a new schedule, a busier life, if you had to choose it. you would find a way…
October 11th, 2008 @ 8:35 pm
beautifully written.
I have also been thinking about this a lot lately. It has changed the way I have been thinking about all kinds of things – xmas gifts will be mostly handmade with lots of love and thought. All kinds of little things cross my mind daily about how I can change the way we live. Maybe this is good for us.
But really, I don’t think it will be ANYTHING like the Great Depression. I think things will regulate and get to where they should be. 2 million will no longer be the new 1 million, gas will not be $4/gallon, and milk can hopefully go back to a reasonable price. Things got too big too quick and who can keep up with that? I am trying to think positively.
October 12th, 2008 @ 12:25 pm
You’ve captured so beautifully what so many of us are feeling…
As we look at all of this, though — we need to remember that there are vast differences between how the economy was handled during the Great Depression and now…
Most important is the fact that our government and the governments of the world are acting quickly to mitigate the impact of the market swings… something that didn’t happen in 1929. Our world is so interdependent now (again, a huge difference between now and then) that it seems very unlikely that we won’t figure out a way through this that will prevent another Great Depression.
The thing that I think we need to all remember is that this has, as you so well noted, made us much more aware not only of our own spending — but of how the public trust has been treated both by Wall Street and our government. I hope that it will inspire people to become much more informed about those running for public office — and to insist on holding our elected officials accountable for their decisions. I also hope that it will be instrumental in getting more people out to vote — because they will perhaps finally realize that yes, indeed, each vote really does matter.
Hang in there — think positively — we are a nation of profound human resources — we will get through this.
October 13th, 2008 @ 7:27 am
We who write here live in a privileged world, in a country (not to mention a world) where millions — most of them children — exist on the hardscrabble edge already. I fret for the ones already on the brink and feel deep resentment for those whose avariciousness has brought us here … at least until I remember my own condition in a world where I am filthy rich.
October 15th, 2008 @ 9:19 am
First, I really love reading your blog. I am continually inspired to be a better writer by reading what you write.
Second, I think our government needs us to panic so they can sell us safety. I’m no economic mind, and politics frustrates me with all the lying and manipulation, so I’m certainly no expert on what’s happening.
But I know, I believe, that most Americans are resilient. I know that whatever happens, we will get through it. People like us who have the will to learn from what life teaches us. Even if it’s hard. Even if we need to deal with very difficult dilemmas.
Difficulty makes us grow, and if this holiday season isn’t as fiercely commercial as years past, I think that might help us Americans re-learn what really matters.