Current Mood: Bored

So we’re in a recession, and we’ve been here a while. Pardon me while I state the obvious. While I don’t think that it will be fixed with the wave of a presidential wand (look at the so-called stimulus garbage), I do think that we, as humans, have learned to adapt. So let’s see what this adaptation of the “living large” lifestyle has done to help us, both as humans and the world as a whole.

• We drive more economical cars.
  Gone are the land barges. An H2 is now only mildly “fashionable” if it has giant chrome rims. *shudder*
• We use less.
  With using less of everything, from the aforementioned economical cars saving gas to using less energy to heat and cool our homes to buying less stuff to throw away, it does make a positive impact.
• We re-use.
  While it has become almost vogue to “go green,” we are doing it also out of necessity. We learn to mend socks. We learn to save a jar. We buy clothes at thrift shops. Even those that can afford new things are learning to  give away to others who are less fortunate, rather than tossing it in the landfill.
• We eat less.
  If you can’t afford steak every night, you don’t eat it, right? Not only is that better for our waistlines, that is better for the environment by farmers having to produce fewer animals, with their environmental waste. A sandwich is once again regarded as a meal instead of a snack.
• We are more giving.
  I’m poor, you’re poor, we’re all poor. Well ok, not everyone is poor, but even the most well-off are feeling the financial strain. That makes people more likely to not only give away unwanted items, but more likely as well to help out their neighbor.
• It knocks down the collective “holier than thou” mentality.
  No explanation needed. However, I will pass on a story that my friend told me today:
  Her son is classmates with another boy who’s a lot smaller. The mother of the smaller boy was relating her financial woes of clothing three children. My friend, who is one of the most charitable people I know, offered this mother her son’s outgrown clothes. The mother politely declined. The teacher told my friend later that the mother was recently separated from her husband, who was supporting the family rather lavishly. All of the children (and the mother) only wore designer clothes. The teacher had had the two older children as well, so had gotten to know this mother through the years. The teacher said that the children never wore faded, stained, or otherwise even slightly unkempt clothes, and they always had a label. And the mother refused any kind of help from anyone, because “only poor people accept charity.” Hate to tell ya Mom, but you’re poor. Get ready for it.
• We are more clever.
  If you or someone you know has lost their jobs and have been unemployed for a while, it is very likely that a skill has been re-discovered to either earn or save money. Perhaps we now change our own oil, as opposed to taking it to the service shop? Style our own hair instead of paying a beautician?
• We are more entrepreneurial.
  Whatever you are trained in, you can do that not only for a company, but for yourself. Many people are rediscovering this entrepreneurial spirit that has shaped our country.

While the financial crisis is disturbing and disheartening, as humans we learn to adapt. And adaptation is good, it is how our species has survived for so long.