Empty Pockets and the American Dream

"I wish a buck was still silver, it was back when the country was strong. Back before Elvis and the Vietnam War came along. Before the Beatles and "Yesterday" when a man could still work, and still would. The best of the free life's behind us now, and are the good times really over for good?" Merle Haggard, "Are the Good Times Really Over."

America's a big place. I can't speak for what's going on in other parts of the country--only about what I see and hear in my little corner of Alabama. The overall mood here is gloomy.

I live in the Auburn/Opelika area. These two cities have experienced tremendous growth in the last twenty years. So much so that we are in the top three fastest growing cities in Alabama. Families have moved here for opportunities and the quality of life afforded by the area: a major university, good medical care, light industry, and great location. Hundreds of homes have been constructed, along with new shopping centers, restaraunts, and other amenities. Churches and schools have expanded. And there were ambitious plans for more--much more. A multi-million dollar KIA automobile plant, which recently opened, would bring thousands of jobs to the area. Just two years ago, I heard more than one person brag that our area was "recession proof."

What a difference two years can make.

I heard one man's story today. He owned a small "mom and pop" auto parts store in a nearby town. It was a thriving business several years ago. Then the franchise stores moved in. He struggled to keep his customers but began to lose them one by one to volume pricing. He tried to adapt, changed direction--converted his parts inventory to big rig trucks and heavy machinery. Then logging and construction declined as the economy faltered. What was a successful family business is now closed. His wife lost her job, they lost their house, and are now looking for a small plot of land in the country to put a mobile home on to start over. As I tried to encourage him with "Well, I hope the economy starts to turn around soon", he responded with "It ain't gonna get better no time soon."

"It ain't gonna get better no time soon." I hear this in variations everywhere I go. From preachers, bankers, farmers, and workers of all stripes. From a friend who made his living in real estate, who now works low-wage manual labor and is struggling to keep his home. From a friend in his mid-fifties who was an executive at a plant that closed, and who confessed he would take "any job he could find." From recent college graduates waiting tables and cooking fast food.

Our country has been through at least a couple of economic recessions in my life time. But I don't recall the level of fear that I see in people's eyes these days. Homes and jobs continue to be lost, and most people I talk to think the country's on the wrong path--that recovery isn't likely anytime in the near future.

I must confess that I'm not immune to the pessimism. But I have been fortunate enough to stay afloat thus far. I was able to find another job, and for that I am very thankful. Like most folks in the U.S., I am incredibly blessed. I have way too much "stuff", and can get by on much less.

Perhaps the "American Dream" we've all been chasing the last thirty years has been the wrong dream. Maybe we haven't been thankful enough for the abundance we've been blessed with. Maybe we've bought in to a lie. I don't know the answers. But I do believe that America is too great a country to lose hope. The "good times" don't have to be over. The days, weeks, months, and maybe even years ahead will be the true test of our resolve.

May God bless America.