The Emerald Rose

The past two years I, I have sort of “semi-retired”. There really are “burnout curves” in all businesses, believe it or not. Where our parents, the first  post WW2 baby boom parent era, were trying to recover from 6-8 years of SERIOUS war footing in the United States of America and establish a new life as well, everything rocketed ahead. That my friends was a “real” economic recovery, and it brought with it changes larger than those of the industrial revolution of centuries prior to that time.

Just coming out of the “Great Depression”, costs rising, a whole new workforce that was created,grew up and materialized in that scant moment of time! The women of America, and then the return of hundreds of Veterans at least five years out of touch with the American workforce, it’s union controlled backbone, and it’s maximum development of Henry Fords original assembly line techniques, was all that was needed to create the growth it provided, …BUT cheap labor, as well, which the end of the War was just dumping into the country by the boatloads!

The men were readily employed, the women also, and the “two income family” of the 20th Century began it’s ascendancy. The money dumped into the economy from new home building and sales, appliances, clothing and automobiles was unbelievable.

I grew up in that era,it didn’t take our parents long to realize that THEY were responsible for how to DRIVE this economy forward further and better for THEIR new families. Hence my generation was born, and the value to become better educated was really stepped up. Virtually everyone born after 1945 was expected to become college educated, while their parents sacrificed a”whole bunch” to insure it happened. The parents realized that working “on the line” was not a long term path to success, but the short term potential to insure their kids would prosper even more, and be smart enough to “command” the forces of the various markets to develope and bring sanity and balance back to the world in general, and be smart enough to know WAR was not good for anyone!

But life has a way of backfiring on everyone! While the parents worked like dogs to provide, and save to pay the college tuitions and boarding fees, and the children were being presented with more learning opportunities than we ever knew  could be available. But the dark forces were gathering!

With parents, and children working like never before, the unions were trying to recover from a number of efforts to unblock the myriad of legal efforts at “breaking” their monopoly and power. At the same time the evil temptations of “Socialism” began, and subsequently the synonymous “Liberal” and “Progressive” movements. They gained huge advances in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Our people got lazy, thought about an easier life, a life that provided whatever they “wanted”, vs. “needed” to have an even footing to better ourselves.

And so the “old engine” of the economic tidal wave, it’s blue collar and female work forces began to retire,….and age.. and the wave began to falter. Socialism’s pervasive spread began, as did new things on the business horizon,…..computers, mass marketing, communications, and the adjunct results of the College Baby Boomers.

While some things are good, and some bad,…..we keep moving along, a little faster than we should at times, and for sure not the smartest way of doing it! The new pharmaceutical and other medical advancements started rolling by at 100 miles an hour,….and life seemed better,….at least for now!

But as prices spiraled, so did the demand for more income, more profits, and in general just plain MORE of everything, but that demand started to seriously undermine our health as Americans as we got older. Where 70 years ago children basically had parents move in with them for the rest of their lives, now kids were moving back home with parents because they could not afford to go on and be able to be self sufficient after $50 – $400,000 or more in tuitions, and the plethora of specialized degrees were nearly useless, because they were not able to be a “building block” in a career ladder, but only another rung in an ever weakening ladder!

The “ancient” arts like speaking correctly and in whole sentences, the ability to use “logic” to prove theory, and thoughts, and the ability to simply “write” were being minimized. A new dictionary, as well as phrases, and all things civil, (including basic manners, respect for others and self respect dwindled to points of real concern).

But trudge on we do and oblivious to the long term ramifications of that oblivion, which the rest of those “left behind”, can do nothing but watch, while we are reminded that all that glitters is not gold. To make the point I am reminded of a past Speaker of The House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, who had the colossal NERVE, let alone the APPALLING IGNORANCE, to tell the US Citizens that they had to pass the Health Care Bill proposed by the Executive branch of Barrack Obama’s Government, before they could read it and evaluate it’s points!! But after passing it and the truth became clear that the “Emperor had no Clothes”,…..we were still mandated to accept it as law!

While this may seem a little dire,…..look around you. THINK about what you see EVERY DAY, look at what our newly minted Degrees are getting our children, check and see how many of them are still at home, until “the big break” happens,…..and on another note see what has happened to religion in the WORLD is today! It’s declining fast, and the underpinning of belief and little qualities like HOPE, FAITH, COMMITMENT, INTEGRITY, AND A HUNDRED MORE THINGS that are almost gone from the list of vanishing factors in greatness of a Society are all about.

But I’m just saying,….for all we have gained, all we have learned, ……are we REALLY ahead, or are we simply slipping backwards into the Tar Pits of the “GREAT ERA”!

-30-

4/9/2018