We will never be the same. The Covid-19 virus crisis that is upon us will mark us for life. In years from now, younger people will wonder why we are the way we are, and it will be close to impossible to explain what we went through.
Of course there will be books and movies, and documentaries on the equivalent of NPR, so people will have a clue. But how we lived through it, why some survived and some did not… these unanswerable questions will persist.
My Parents’ Generation
I am old enough that my parents lived through the Great Depression and World War II. My father served in the Army. They experienced the disruption and deprivation of the Depression, the turmoil, fatalities, and rationing of the war. I was born after the war. So my experience of those events was gleaned from watching my parents navigate the world I was growing up in. Certainly my values as a child were not aligned with theirs. (Perhaps no child’s values ever perfectly align with their parents.) I grew in the then present. Many people grow up in the formative years of their past.
I consider that it was difficult for them to experience fully most of the prosperity that was available when I was growing up, at least initially. Certainly the experiences of the Depression and the war marked them. For life.
Do Not Be Discouraged
The news is full of discouraging items. People are home and not going out. Or they are going out and protesting the need to be safe. The toll on healthcare workers is immense and unbearable. A national mobilization is required, but unlikely.
And So Too, Us
This era we are going through will scar us deeply. It already has and will continue to do so. I cannot say exactly how, or what the specific long-term effects will be. The combination of the virus and the economic fallout is enormous.
Some things…
Food storage and growing one’s own food. Personal protective equipment. Social and physical distancing. Internet-based socializing. All these seem obviously significant in our times. How they will spill into our futures? What else that is currently upon us that we don’t see that will continue in our lives?
The Unfortunateness of Politics
It is a sad world we live in. That politics has become the overriding explanation of our lives is a tragedy beyond measure. I push it aside as much as I can. But it drives the larger momentum of society.
The Window is Not The Outside
Gazing from my window, I can see a tiny slice of the world, and I surmise its condition. But when I go outside myself, I know what is. I don’t need to surmise or guess.
The Money World
I want to say: millions of people are out of work. But the truth now is tens of millions of people are out of work. Tens of millions of people are looking for some sort of financial relief. Many seem close to despair. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to speak about the financial world. Cash is for many now means survival, the cash that Warren Buffett equates to oxygen.
I consider one of the benefits of being retired and older is that I sometimes see myself as someone with some life experience. I feel I can (sometimes) see things in the long view. As a result, I try not to panic when things go awry. That is not to say I am stoic or emotionless, I can raise my voice when needed. But when it comes to large movements of historic influence, I watch and see and [try to] understand.
I have been through a few market declines. This current Covid-19 experience far outweighs anything in my lifetime. From the current unemployment point of view, it is the worst situation since the Great Depression. The wild gyrations of the stock market engender fear that could cause others to dump stocks. I do know however, that selling when things are low means that I lock in losses. It is all on paper until or if I ever sell. As a result, I wait it out. Since I am mostly a dividend investor with much of the dividends I receive are for reinvestment, the dividends received buy more shares because the prices have declined.
How and what are you doing these days? Comment here.
The photo of a passion fruit flower was taken in April 2020.
The post Marked For Life appeared first in Smile If You Dare.