The current economic situation brings out the best and worst in people. The nightly news is featuring stories about people who are rising to the occasion of this recession and unselfishly taking pay cuts and putting off raises to help their employer keep people working. Unfortunately, for some the frustration of looking for employment forces them into the murky waters of prejudice and selfishness. “How come that person has a job and I can’t find one?” When “that person” has an accent or disability or is a different color the risk is run of sliding down the slippery slope of prejudice. The United States may not be in the same position as Depression Era Germany—yet—but we are seeing and hearing the sort of frustrations that hateful people used to acquire power. For some the fear is so great that they cannot see beyond their own needs. I’m reading and hearing things that disturb me. I believe that we are in this lifeboat together. If you’re interested in what I’m seeing in our little corner of the South Sound read more.Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Stress of the Economic Crisis
The current economic situation brings out the best and worst in people. The nightly news is featuring stories about people who are rising to the occasion of this recession and unselfishly taking pay cuts and putting off raises to help their employer keep people working. Unfortunately, for some the frustration of looking for employment forces them into the murky waters of prejudice and selfishness. “How come that person has a job and I can’t find one?” When “that person” has an accent or disability or is a different color the risk is run of sliding down the slippery slope of prejudice. The United States may not be in the same position as Depression Era Germany—yet—but we are seeing and hearing the sort of frustrations that hateful people used to acquire power. For some the fear is so great that they cannot see beyond their own needs. I’m reading and hearing things that disturb me. I believe that we are in this lifeboat together. If you’re interested in what I’m seeing in our little corner of the South Sound read more.
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2 comments:
Stephanie, I applaud your insight and your sensitivity. I remember meeting a woman who had lived in Germany last year at St. Joseph's Hospital. She had suffered greatly in Germany because her family reached out to the Jewish community as an advocate. She suffered greatly here in South Sound because many people would not hire her or support her and her family in any way, following World War II, because she was German.
She survived and was very successful, despite the prejudice she experienced here. And she was frightened and quite sad because she saw so many people here beginning to speak and act in ways similiar to people in Germany prior to Hitler's take over of the government.
We need a lot of help to keep us learning from past experience and moving us to never choose to label and exclude people from jobs and other benefits they have because they are American citizens and daughters and sons of God...
We need to break the cycles of prejudice, segregation, and hate.
Thank you for speaking so clearly to the issue...
Thank you, Joseph, for your kind words. Hard times test our ability to live our beliefs. It is easy to be generous when you have a lot. Not so easy when you have little.
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