I don't know about you but I find it harder and harder to watch or listen to the news anymore. It's no wonder people have no confidence in anything because all they hear is doom and gloom on a daily basis.
Now I'm not being silly I realize times are tough. That people are losing their jobs, their homes and their retirements, and it doesn't look like the end is anywhere in sight. We ask ourselves why is this happening. We look to find someone to cast blame upon. We look to others to provide the answers when in reality we are the answer.
Crawling our way out of this mess begins with restoring consumer confidence so that people will start supporting the economy again. All of the bailout money in the world is not going to solve a thing until people start to buy things, which will in turn create jobs, which in return will cause our economy to grow again. Sounds simple, doesn't it? But it's true and it all starts with us.
Now there are people out there that say how can I have confidence in a government/society/system that rewards greed and casts the burden of rescue upon the working man and their children? That is a reasonable question but the answer is how you view your actions. If you view it that you are supporting a system that is flawed then things will remain flawed. However, if you view this as helping your fellow man, your neighbor by getting back into the economy by, not being silly, not being afraid to make a purchase again, only then will things start to improve.
We need to think of this as semantic gymnastics or word play. Let replace the word confidence, which implies that they have earned it, with the word faith. Now faith can take on many forms: Faith in God, Faith in our family, Faith in my ability to work or provide, Faith in my partner or spouse, Faith in my neighbors, Faith in mankind or Faith in my country. Faith typically is a word associated with an unproven or unseen belief. It is by sheer faith alone that we believe something exists. See, faith is a bond or a commitment or a love of something which is why we can have Faith in ourselves.
Once we have supplemented the word faith then we have to ask the real questions. Do I have faith in my family, friends, country, government, my Lord, my faith and to what degree am I willing to go to prove my faith. Faith is more than a belief, faith is an action, faith is much like love. I have a favorite saying "Love is a verb as well as a noun". By that I mean that you can tell someone you love them 100 times a day but you also need to show it in your actions. Faith is the same way. If you have faith in our society, in our country, in our willingness to provide for those that are less fortunate, then you need to step up to the plate and take a chance.
Like many of you I am a believer and I believe that the Lord watches over all of us. Now some people don't share that point of view and that is fine, it is their right to feel that way. I have more faith in my God than I do my elected officials right now so that is my focus. I believe God will help direct us out of this mess we are in. He won't do it for me, he'll allow me to make good choices and do what is best for my family and friends.
What is your focus going to be? Perhaps it's our government, if you have faith then believe! Is it your family, if you have faith then believe! Pick your point of faith and act upon it for the good of those around you.
One last thing......the media. Back in 1990 I watched the media create a recession just based upon doom and gloom predictions. In 1989 the economy was rolling right along but by 1990 the media started talking about how it was time for a recession, and before long we were in one. There is a saying in the news business..."If it bleeds it leads". Meaning the bloody gore or depressing news is going to be what is force fed you. When you think about it, it is actually in the medias best interest that this recession drag on because it means ratings and advertisers. If you make the commitment to have faith, turn the news off because they will just continue to play on your emotions and fears.
It's time we all pull together and get this country rolling again.
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