The Great Depression

I've taken up reading a bit about The Great Depression. I mean, I did study this particular historical era when I was in High School, but now that I'm an adult, I find history a much more interesting topic than I did when I was a teenager.

This notorious picture was taken by Dorothea Lange in February or March of 1936 in California. Lange said she approached this woman while doing a series of photos during her month long trip through California photographing migratory farm labor. She said the "Migrant Mother" never asked her any questions, but just silently allowed her to zoom in closer and closer to take her picture. The woman never told Dorothea her name or history, but did tell her that she was thirty-two years old. The woman explained that they had been surviving on frozen vegetables from the nearby fields and birds that her children had killed. She also explained that they had just sold the tires from her vehicle so they could buy food.

This brief description of this woman's life and the corresponding photo really tugged at my heart. It brought to my mind about 1001 questions that will probably never be answered.

For example, where did this poor woman go with her family after this photo was taken? Without a vehicle with tires, I'm sure it wasn't far. If they were eating frozen vegetables from the fields, I'm sure they were the last pickings from the fields, probably not much nourishment there.

Was she married? Where was her husband? Where had she originally come from? Did she have family other than her children, who were traveling with them?

I know that there are many who contemplate whether we are headed for another Great Depression II. Now, I'm not very good at economics, but during the coarse of reading about The Great Depression, I've noticed a few things.

Such as, immediately preceding that time period, our country was just coming off The Roaring 20's. People were living high on life! Employment was high, unemployment obviously was low and wealthier people were starting to dabble in the stock market. The average middle class worker was not receiving pay increases to beat inflation, so they started making extra luxury household expenditures on credit.

Then, the stock market took a dive. Banks started having runs on their money. Banks closed. The supply was exceeding the demand. Okay, you probably know all this, but what I noticed to be the biggest underlying factor was the 'panic.' People were panicked about how they were going to survive. The Great Dust Bowl phenomenon added to the grief of the American Midwestern farmer. Panic rose to an ultimate high.

Now, I'm not claiming panic is the major reason for the The Great Depression, but I certainly don't think it helped the American people either.

Was the "Migrant Mother" panicked or had she sunk to a desperate feeling of despair?

While looking at pictures from the Depression era and reading some of the history that goes with those pictures, I have to realize that Americans believe we are in a depression at this very moment. Truthfully, the economic statistics that determine a recession haven't been met at this time, so no, I don't believe that we are in a depression. That doesn't mean I think we are not going to see one. I'm not sure. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Government regulations were put in place after The Great Depression to prevent another severe depression similar to the one the world saw in the 1930's. Have we outgrown those regulations? Are they secure enough to prevent the world from slumping into an economic disaster? Are they outdated for the world we live in now? After all almost 80 years have passed since The Great Depression began. Could the world economic status be too complex for those old regulations to apply anymore?

Yes, I do not believe that our country is experiencing a depression at this time, but I think we also have to be prepared for whatever may come. I think we need to stop ignoring all the tell-tale signs that are right before our noses, but more importantly, I think we need to keep cool heads. I think we need to stop demanding that our country is in a depression and is definitely headed for one, but to also prepare for the worse.

I think we need to balance our basic ideals...prepare, but don't prophesy.