One thing that does strike me is to consider the age of the person[s] when they experienced the Depression (say, the years 1929 thru 1941).

My father was 9 in 1929, my mother slightly younger. So that was what they knew, that was how they lived, and their stories refelcted the hindsight of the affluence experienced in the post-WWII world in comparison with the Depression.

What I and many others never heard much of were the experiences of those who were already adults in 1929; those lived through the 1920s as adults, and then who were in their 50s and 60s in 1929. By the time I was old enough to hear those stories, they were mostly gone.

What I think would be of more relevance to all of us would be understanding the adjustments these older people had to make, from previously being wage earners and able to support their families to being reduced to unemployed and penniless.

The young children today will grow up and it will be the world they know.

Those of us who are not young, who face retirement in the coming few years, who have had our investments turn to trash, who have had our expectations of retiring without poverty… should this economic downturn last and deepen (as I expect), it is how we adjust and survive they will mark us. We are already damaged in so many ways, the wastefulness of the last few years–the unneeded war in Iraq, the unbounded financial and political greed, the surrendering of our economic capability as a manufacturing nation for short-term cheaper goods from overseas… all of these now combined to make us as a nation and us as individuals so much weaker and so supremely vulnerable.

They called the generation that fought WWII “the greatest generation”, but it seems to me those working adults who lived through the Depression are the great ones as well.

–Joe

I think part of the problem is that we’re still dealing with the concept of image that is so ingrained in our society. Take a look at a magazine stand, and you’ll see what I mean. There is a glut of fashion magazines all touting the must-haves of the season. We have advertising telling us we deserve things. Everyone wants to look like they’re doing well, and no one wants to admit that they’re really just average. We have a culture of entitlement, and luxuries have become necessities. I don’t see this attitude going away quickly or quietly.

I have spoken with my grandparents and my husbands’ grandparents of what it was like to live through the Great Depression. And you know what intrigues me the most? While they talk about the difficulties they endured and how times were so tough wondering if they would be able to eat, heat their homes, (some things that we can’t imagine having to wonder how we would make do without now)…I didn’t hear ANY complaints. Sure they said it was difficult, but they didn’t speak of it with whining and complaining about how it shouldn’t have been that way.

One of my favorite shows is The Waltons…which depicts the lives of the real-life Hamners who lived during that era. It is very inspiring to watch a family that worked hard and pulled together instead of split apart when times got tough. Sure there was some fictional plots involved in the series, but from talking with others who lived through that era, the show is pretty true to life.

I think all of what Pat stated in her response reflects sound stewardship. I think the ideals that she described so nicely that people lived by during the Great Depression (living within their means; saving up $/goods for worse times) are not only ideals that should be held during uncertain financial crises but throughout all of life. I believe these principles that she eluded to are derived from biblical mandates to be good stewards of everything God has given us.

Thank you for the post, Jaime, and for your response, Pat. I think you hit the nail on the head!

Blessings,
Katie