Commentary on the economic downturn
Oct. 18th, 2008 05:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timepieceLooks like Mark Morford is actually a silver lining kind of guy (who knew?):
It actually is a good way of looking at things. A little more reassuring than total panic, a little more calming than "everything is going down the tubes!" No, we're just learning to be frugal (which does not mean cheap; it simply means avoiding waste - using the whole cow and so forth), to be efficient, to appreciate alternatives. And that's actually a good thing for society as a whole. Like the new appreciation for alternative energy sources, for better gas mileage, for staying home instead of traveling, etc. I guess we have to have a cycle like this at least once a lifetime, so the lessons don't get completely forgotten.
To be honest, there really are some genuine upsides of a recession. We use less. We become more aware. We drive less, walk more, produce less crap we don't actually need, churn out fewer pollutants, become highly attuned to waste and excess, dial into opportunity, travel locally, skip vacuous trends, become less fickle, appreciate bargain wines, breathe cleaner air, save, appreciate, savor.
It actually is a good way of looking at things. A little more reassuring than total panic, a little more calming than "everything is going down the tubes!" No, we're just learning to be frugal (which does not mean cheap; it simply means avoiding waste - using the whole cow and so forth), to be efficient, to appreciate alternatives. And that's actually a good thing for society as a whole. Like the new appreciation for alternative energy sources, for better gas mileage, for staying home instead of traveling, etc. I guess we have to have a cycle like this at least once a lifetime, so the lessons don't get completely forgotten.