Hey Y'all! It's a Recession!!!

The NY Times, CNN, and every other media source with more than 2 brain cells reported yesterday that (*gasp*) America is indeed in the midst a recession. Well duh. And it's reportedly been going on for more than a year. Double duh. And the worst is still to come according to those in the know. Cue dramatic background music here.

I'm not sure why this has come as such a surprise to the PTB (Powers That Be) when it's what Americans have been crying for more than a year. Our shopping dollar goes nowhere, until last month we were unable to afford gas, unemployment is up, wages are down. Why is it such a surprise that we Americans have stopped spending and are holing ourselves up in our homes; that's if we've managed to hold onto our homes. Per the New York Times:

"But many analysts said they saw no signs yet that the economy was nearing a bottom. American consumers, who for decades have been the country’s tireless source of growth when all else failed, have cut back on their spending more sharply than at any time since the early 1980s.

Consumer spending plunged in the third quarter of this year, and the evidence so far suggests they may pull back even more in the fourth quarter. Consumers account for about 71 percent of American economic activity, and their most recent retreat is occurring even though gasoline prices have dropped by almost half in the last month and left people with more money in their pockets. "

So what some overpaid executive is telling us is 1) Americans are broke, and 2) we're trying to save what little money we can scrounge together. Hmmm. That's rocket science, y'all. Let me pull out a 5 year degree and thinking cap to fully grasp these concepts. My hope of hopes in all this mess is that not having cash available will cause folks to be a little more resourceful, with their time and money, and with what God has made available to them. We as a nation are so much more capable of survival and creativity than we give ourselves credit for, but we've been so pampered and coddled for the last 50 years, we've forgotten that capacity for self-sufficiency. Slick marketing practices have so isolated us that we feel if we don't own the latest electronics, trendiest clothes, the smallest phones that in some way we're not successful, happy or worthy. If we don't drive a new car every 2 years or purchase new clothes every season, we should be looked down on. Exciting department store commercials show those happy, fulfilled folks with their straight off the catwalk fashions. "All you have to do is pay 79.99 for a cashmere sweater and you'll be as happy as I am!"

I remember that short-lived feeling of exhilaration, rushing around with a cart-full of pretties, bright colors with that lovely new starchy feel, or that crisp plastic electronics smell. I also remember the crush when the 'new' wore off and the bill came due, and the desire for more 'new'. It was a fix, comparable to any drug or alcohol, but legal, so it was easier to get; and like any drug, each subsequent high required a little more drug to achieve the same high. What we had was a consumer snowball effect. And the commercials kept prompting....'you deserve it; you need it; shop here for the good life; we'll save you money while you get what you really want!'

I must admit that sometimes I just want to go shop, mindlessly, shamelessly, extravagantly. Shoes, ladies and gentlemen, could be my downfall. But then I wake up and realize it's all for nought. We are a nation of idolaters. We find comfort, mercy, peace in the arms of merchandise. We've replaced our God with a gadget, wrapped in shiny cellophane, on the alter of mass consumerism and immediate gratification. Wall Street cats have grown fat on American's discontent but now is the time to reexamine that discontent. At some point, you must simply stop, back up and take a breath. Contentedness isn't something you can buy or sell, folks. It's something you *create and live*.