I’ve been in a serious funk lately. Too much month, not enough money. Too many kids, not enough solitude. Too much illness, not enough wellness. Too much cold, not enough warmth. Too much work, not enough motivation. Too much fear, not enough security. Too much dark, not enough light. Too much stress, not enough joy. You get the idea. Too much. Not enough.
I know that I’m not the only one. In the middle-class-but-falling-lower society in which I live, I see despair in the faces of all of the people in my life. It’s as if a neverending winter has descended upon us and refuses to budge. Each day seems to bring with it not the promise of a brand new start but the reality of the same-old struggle and we’re all weary of it.
If I try to examine why things feel so lousy, aside from the economy being in the toilet, the one thing that keeps popping up in my mind is that it’s just too damn hard to live any more. The American Dream of working and raising families and building wealth has disintegrated and no amount of time spent chasing it each day is bringing it back.
In years past, people used to have a degree of job security. If you worked hard and were dependable, you could work for the same company until retirement and then collect a pension. Now, pensions are rare and working for the same company until retirement is even rarer. You’re fortunate if you are the one who determines the length of your employment rather than the economy or a greedy employer looking to maximize profits.
What happened to being able to save some money for vacations or Christmas or college or a major purchase? Our savings, if we are lucky to have any at all, have shrunk to mere fractions of their former amounts, victims of a grab-n-greed mentality. Most of us are so busy living paycheck to paycheck and still coming up short that there is simply nothing left to save. Is financial security out of our reach for good?
The cost of goods and services is increasing at exponential rates. Even though fuel has decreased, the fuel surcharges that were tacked onto the cost of everything from food to trash removal to goods manufactured from petroleum have remained. Everything simply costs more, even though most of us are earning less.
Health insurance has turned into a luxury instead of a necessity. If you are lucky enough to have it, you find that most of your paycheck goes toward paying for it. For my family of five, our health insurance costs more than our mortgage yet we’re still faced with high deductibles and co-payments. We can’t afford to get sick, but we can’t afford to pay for the insurance either. Every month is a shell game of mortgage vs. heating oil vs. insurance vs. food vs. bills.
I’ve been wondering: are the days of having a middle-class gone for good? Have we reached a point where there are only the Haves and the Have-Nots?
While watching the news coverage of Obama’s Inaugural Whistle-Stop Train Rally on Saturday, though, something in me felt a little more hopeful. Just hearing Joe Biden and Barack Obama acknowledge the struggles of the middle class filled me with relief; they understand and are aware of what we’re going through.
In his speech at Wilmingon, Delaware, Joe Biden addressed the crowd gathered there in the below freezing weather: “The weather’s cold, but a deeper chill of worry and concern have gripped the nation… Millions of Americans have been knocked down. Our economy is struggling. We’re a nation at war. Sometimes, it’s difficult to believe we’ll see the Spring again. But I tell you, Spring is on the way with this new administration.”
It’s easy to believe that Joe Biden understands our predicament. After all, he grew up in a family of meager means. As Barack Obama acknowledged in his speech at Wilmington, Delaware, “Joe Senior taught his son about the values that stretched longer than the dollar: the dignity of a hard day's work; the primacy of family; the dream that anyone should be able to make it if they try; and the simple lesson that when we Americans get knocked down, we always - always - get back up on our feet. Those are values that the American people hold in common... They form a foundation for our success, and lift us up when we face adversity.”
In listening to this description of American working-class values, I’m struck with the realization that I cannot imagine either George Bush or Dick Cheney making a similar speech. Success in life for people from their social class depends more on coming from money and having connections than it does on hard work. How can we possibly believe that the administration of the past eight years has been working with our best interests in mind?
I’m not naive enough to expect that Obama is going to solve all of my or the country’s problems. With all that he has to deal with, he’ll be lucky if he can solve one or two of them. Still, it’s reassuring to me to hear him say, “Together, we know that there is work to be done... a nation at war, an economy in turmoil, an American Dream that feels like it’s slipping way. Together, we know that the American people are facing adversity, and that the time has come to pick ourselves up once again... we will fight for you every single day that we're in Washington, because Joe and I are both committed to leading a government that is accountable - not just to the wealthy or the well-connected, but to you... That's who we're fighting for. That's who needs change.”
That’s when I was overcome with emotion and my tears started falling. Tears of recognition that yes, things are undeniably difficult right now; yes, it’s a long road ahead of us; yes, it’s going to take a great deal of fortitude to hang in there; but dammit, someone, this man, understands and will fight to make things right. For us. If he believes in all of us, surely we can find the courage to hang on a little bit longer and give him a chance.
In Baltimore, Maryland, Obama reminded us that we all have a role in helping ourselves climb out of the despair:
“And yet while our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not. What is required is the same perseverance and idealism that those first patriots displayed. What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives - from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry - an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.That is the reason I launched my campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago. I did so in the belief that the most fundamental American ideal, that a better life is in store for all those willing to work for it, was slipping out of reach. That Washington was serving the interests of the few, not the many. And that our politics had grown too small for the scale of the challenges we faced.
But I also believed something else. I believed that our future is our choice, and that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everyone together - Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, north, south, east and west, black, white, Latino, Asian, and Native American, gay and straight, disabled and not - then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our union in the process.”
As I listened to him speak, I was struck with the unexpected thought that perhaps we can come away from this current disaster even stronger. Perhaps we’ll not only survive, but thrive, in a nation that will be even greater than it used to be. Maybe the oppression and hopelessness of the past eight years will fall away and we’ll find ourselves with new eyes and new resolve and new opportunities. Maybe it’s true after all that that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Thank you, President-Elect Obama. I feel better already.
(photo from http://www.shallownation.com/)
*Wilmington speech transcript courtesy ofhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/us/politics/17text-obama-delaware.html?ref=politics
**Baltimore speech transcript courtesy ofhttp://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/01/17/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4730806.shtml
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Comments
this is a wonderful piece. i'm so glad you got some time to write it in the midst of all your stressors. thank you for sharing your wise and talented self with us and for sharing what lifted you up.
we love you,
teddy and the wonderpups
rated
others are now free to be much more eloquent and elegant in expressing the impact of this post. but whatever. :)
Can I just say that this is some of your most supremely wonderful writing!!! I love the way the first paragraph with the too much/not enough lines ties to the big theme of not enough/i hope we get too much ... :)
xoxoxo ... take this kleenex ~ I swear I didn't use it already!!!
In just two days, two days, now, Barack will be our president and maybe the magic I felt back in the election season will reemerge and things will start to swing our way. I hear you...
I'm sorry things are so depressing and anxiety-provoking for you right now, though. It's a genuine winter of our discontent. Hang in there, Lisa!
I haven't seen that there is a big difference in the values of the working class, the middle class, and the rich. Yes, there are a few people like Bush who inherited their money, but the vast majority of the rich began in middle class homes and went to the local public schools. Warren Buffet, Michael Bloomberg, (to pick two of America's ten richest) and even Dick Cheney.
I like all the pageantry of Obama's deliberate parallels with Lincoln. But I worry, will he go down in history as impressively as he entered it? I'm sincerely hoping so.
"I’m struck with the realization that I cannot imagine either George Bush or Dick Cheney making a similar speech. Success in life for people from their social class depends more on coming from money and having connections than it does on hard work. How can we possibly believe that the administration of the past eight years has been working with our best interests in mind?"
thanks for this post lisa. i think you're speaking for tens of millions here.
Have we seen the worst? That is my question. Have the interests assumptions (such as de-regulation, and "trickle down" economics finally seen their day, and domination of the corporate/military class and consciousness brought themselves down as they did before as a result of their own greed and rapaciousness? History does appear to go in cycles.
The missing piece of the puzzle is how much damage has been wrought, domestically and internationally, or whether the outbreak of a war of more cataclysmic proportions also a possibility now since that is the historical precedent? It doesn't appear that way since the US has no rivals on that level globally, but the definitions have changed, and so has the standard of living in this country, and that is, (as you so aptly point out), very scary and disconcerting.
The hope is that Obama succeeds and the minds he brings into office with him into office deliver the way the old liberal "brain trust" of FDR did.
While I'm not crazy about all this hoopla in Washington, it may very well be necessary for the national psyche to think better times are coming.
Perhaps things will feel different on Tuesday after the words "so help me God" are uttered. The problems won't be solved after those words, but the beginning of hope just may.
RATED and I feel the same way.
Well said.
Greg
Jess - I think it's going to take a long time for our problems to be healed. It took 8 years of neglect to create them. I feel hopeful that at least we'll be heading in the right direction. Each little bit that is accomplished will get us closer to being able to enjoy life in America again.
Teddy - Thank you! You are so kind to me. I like your term "middle class squeeze." It reminds me of a water balloon that's been pressed and pushed and now, finally, it's burst.
Myriad - I think there is much that we can learn from our neighbors to the north. What is so wrong with looking after one's own citizens? It's never felt right to me that a few should profit at the expense of many. Thank you for stopping by.
1IM- Thanks for the compliment on my writing. I'd thought about not posting this because I didn't feel it was my best work, but I felt like it needed to be said. Are you sure you didn't use this kleenex?
Spud - Yes, I'm sure a lot of my funk is due to winter doldrums. Northern winters are brutal and this one has been so cold. I look forward to tomorrow, even though I know to not expect a seismic shift. Things are too much of a mess. I think that if Obama stays in touch with us as he works on fixing things that it will help to keep us all off the ledge.
Keep your chin up. That's what I'm working on right now.
Donna - Just imagine if everyone started feeling better at the same time. Confidence would increase, credit would flow, businesses could hire employees again, and we could resume our lives. It would indeed feel like spring after a long, harsh winter!
Jimmy - Companies need to invest in people once again. That's where much of this has gone wrong. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but capitalism at the expense of people equals nothing more than greed.
Emma - I DO feel better, thanks to you and the others here on OS. Who knew that this wasn't merely a place to write and be read but also a place to be lifted up?
JKBrady - I find it tremendously comforting to know that people in the rest of the world are once again aligned with us. I'm hopeful that we can all rise above the mistakes of the past 8 years. I'm heading over to read your post shortly.
Shiral - Yes, even the acknowledgement that there is a middle class goes a long way toward restoring optimism. Whenever I would hear Bush speak, I always knew he wasn't speaking to people like me.
O'Kathryn - Thank you for your kind words. Like you, I am going to dare to feel hopeful about the future.
nanatehay - Thank you. It feels like all of us are getting our voices back after been silenced and ignored for so long.
Great post. Some of your best writing. I guess that my be because it is coming straight from your core, as you worry "what next" for your family. My thoughts are with you.
If I was writing a speech for Obama for tomorrow, I'd be hard-pressed not to include a take off on Gerald Ford's line: America's long national nightmare is over I paraphrase, naturally).
I love that Obama mentioned the dispossessed--Native Americans, disabled or not, gays... He has us in his hands and calls us back to greatness.
Need to get some more tissues for tomorrow...
Greg - You said it. Even if our perception of things can change, we will be better off. Thank you for stopping by.
Dustbowldiva - Yes, there is much to be thankful for; an incoming president with a brain and a heart are two very big reasons!
Mung - Keeping that chin up counts as exercise, right? Hang in there. At least we're not alone!
m.a.h. - Thanks so much for the compliment on my writing. It means so much coming from someone whose writing I admire. "Long national nightmare" comes to my mind as well. Good riddance!
Thanks for this. Your heartfelt sentiments mirror so many of ours here and around the globe. We are not along in this. We are just now beginning to feel what most of the world has been experiencing for decades. We have been so fortunate for so long. It's our turn to feel the pinch.
The cycle of economic decline is upon us now and we must hunker down, use all our resources, strength and cling to the knowledge that this, too, shall pass. Our collective understanding of this cycle, our will and ability to to do our parts positively, unselfishly and with determination and hope, gives credibility to Obama's vision for our future as a nation.
My visual for today is, "Hands across America." All people, hand in hand, holding tight to all that is important and sacred to us as a nation. It is a look of strength and determination on all our faces as we welcome our new president tomorrow and all help usher in a new era where we will regenerate the American Dream. First we must believe it is possible, to live it once more.
O'Steph - Just by acknowledging the different groups of people, Obama has begun to unite them. If nothing else, we've all found our commonness through hardship.
Cathy - I like your visual. Imagining an entire nation, perhaps world, holding hands in unity is powerfully inspiring. It IS a new era and it's exciting to be on the brink of it.
You are in my prayers
Professor - Yes! Growing the economy for the good of the nation rather than the good of the lobbyists should be Priority #1. The outsourcing of America could easily be reversed by instituting tax credits for job creation in the US and with tax surcharges for jobs located outside of the US. I understand the need for a global economy but it's been taken to the extreme in the name of corporate greed and special interests. Thank you for your prayers.