Times do change and each generation creates a new paradigm of
life expectations. I've been reading a lot lately about our current
expectation that life should be fun and everybody should be happy.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against having fun and
happiness. It certainly sounds like a worthy goal, but is it
attainable? This whole train of exploration got me thinking about
the fact that the level of PTSD (Battle Fatigue) in soldiers after
WWII seems less than in current conflicts, and the large number of
middle class young adults seeking help for depression, stress and
anxiety has clearly increased. Why? What's different? Clearly our
perspective, our life experiences, our level of formal education
and, without a doubt, the advancement in medical science has given
us a better vantage point from which to view the issues. In the end
it raises a fundamental question for me. I wonder whether we can
medicate or counsel our way to happiness without really
understanding the root causes and the changes in society that may
have forced us into a downward spiral to begin with.
I live in a rural city and deer make up the largest population
of urban pests. Yesterday I watched a young doe with her late fawn
munching on the flowers (remnants) in our front yard. She looked
thin, tired and a bit mottled. I recognized her as a two-year-old
who we watched as a fawn two years ago coming up and trying to eat
from our bird feeders. Back then she was really cute, well fed,
playful and learning everything she could about her new life as an
urban deer. Life seemed exciting and fun. Her life changed every
day as she learned, grew and aged toward adulthood. Yesterday I
observed in her fawn many of the same characteristics, but in her I
saw the responsibility of parenthood. The fawn ate, then she ate.
She became protective when people came out to shoo her fawn away.
She became anxious as the fawn scampered into the street, just as a
bus approached. She was doing her job as instinct and nature
dictated. This experience tracked me to the question of how I
applied human cognitive reactions and responses to the deer as if
it was human. To a great extent we do it with our family pets. I
confess that I don't know how animals think and I recognize that to
a degree all species have different powers, strengths and
weaknesses. I do believe that we mere humans possess the power to
reason and understand that surpasses the rest of the animal
kingdom. If that's the case why do we so humanize animals? What
does it matter how animals feel, or if they die, why are we sad?
Simply; we see the whole world through our own unique human
perspective based on our own unique mores and experiences.
As humans moved away from an agrarian economy and way of life so
have our expectations. My grandparents would have looked at that
doe as simply a source of food, with no concern about its life or
what it thought or felt. That doe was no different than the
chickens, pigs, cattle or sheep they kept. It was food and, to a
degree, a source of income. In between the beginning of the Great
Depression and the end of WWII the middle class grew very quickly
and working for wages not sustenance became the norm. People moved
from the farms to the cities and our agrarian roots began to
disappear. We wanted more for our children, both materially
educationally, and by way of life's possibilities. Before and
during the Depression being a kid wasn't much better than being an
adult, just on a smaller scale. Life wasn't all play and enjoyment.
Kids worked, kids helped out on the farm, and when the cotton
needed picking or the hay needed stacking everybody worked.
Somewhere in my childhood I became a partial throwback. I had a
paper route or some other job from the time I was about 10. It was
peanuts stuff, but I learned to enjoy working, and play was for the
weekends or the family vacation. I suspect that as the child of a
WWII veteran, my life wasn't a lot different from most of my
peers.
My generation wanted better for our children so we raised the
bar. They wouldn't have to work like we did. They attended play
school to prepare them for elementary school. They got every
opportunity in sports, music, drama and dance. They went to the
best colleges we could afford. They actually had a social life like
many of us never did, and when they grew up they would have a
better life than we did. Somewhere between 1945 and today the
system slipped the rails, and in the end we created an expectation
and a lifestyle that may be unsustainable. It certainly seems
unattainable to many of today's youth. Along the way we
raised the bar both economically and emotionally to very high
levels and then exported the opportunities for jobs that could
sustain even our standard of living. Nobody intended it to happen.
It wasn't part of a grand plan or a great conspiracy, it just
happened. By the way, it's not just our country that has the
problem. It occupies the minds of much of the western world.
A quick study of the economic situation in Greece gives us a
clear picture of the dangers and the damage that instant
gratification brings. Before the European Union, Greece had a very
sustainable economy. Extended families lived together, home
ownership came with inheritance not a mortgage, cars were indeed
rare in the middle class, and the economy grew as did human
expectations at a slow but manageable pace. Enter the Euro and the
credit and debit cards that followed, and all of a sudden life
moved to the fast lane and consumer debt rose at meteoric rates.
People could buy now, pay later and live the good life. Now the
Greek economy is near collapse, and the middle class roams the
streets protesting against having to go back to the way it was or
at least having to give back some of the lifestyle that they gained
with the proliferation of credit.
This is not just a problem in Greece; we suffer from it just as
badly. The difference comes in the size of the national economy
relative to the debt levels. As a percentage of Gross Domestic
Product, our rate of debt growth pales in comparison to that of
Greece. None the less the increase in debt subliminally wears on
our people just like it does in the rest of the free world. Stress
levels rise, and as a whole we become more about preserving our own
piece of prosperity rather than being concerned with the common
good. All this leads to a collective and an individual anxiety
level above the normal curve. Hey, we all know we have a problem
but are we willing to make a sacrifice to address the issue? It's
pretty clear that we want the problem solved, but not at any
individual or group's expense. Don't gore my ox or slaughter any
sacred cows (social security, veteran's benefits, Medicare, union
pensions). This new mentality brings with it a clash between values
and desires that hurts us all.
I will finally get to my point. I don't wonder that the sale and
use of psycho-pharmaceuticals rises by the year. It's no wonder
that American job satisfaction has dropped to an all-time low and
that many of our young people today don't believe that they will be
able to attain a standard of living equivalent to that of the
"Greatest Generation," let alone their parents'. All this leads to
an attitude of dread, fear and anxiety, which further leads, when
untreated, to a depressed state. I don't know the answer, but I do
know that "it's the next generation's problem to solve" - OOPS! I
didn't really say that did I? Yes I did, but only to make a point.
We are all in this together and every living human being has a
vested interest in fighting depression, and if that means making
sacrifices we all must step up and do our part. We have to fix the
underlying causes and we should, along the way, work on the mental
health issues that society has wrought on many of us due to the
attitude change from selfless to selfish. I am not making a value
judgment with this point, but merely pointing out a reality. We
shouldn't and can't play a blame game (too much sex and violence on
TV and a moral disconnect). Each of us needs to do a
self-assessment and see what we can do to change the future for
ourselves and those around us. Guilt over past sins has no place
(easy to say but hard to make happen) in our future.
How do we move forward in a positive way? The path will differ
for all of us and will depend on where we start. If a person starts
in a dark place their path will be longer than it will be for those
of us who have a level of contentment. The focus will be very
different. From the dark place we must look inward and upward to
get to our place of contentment (at least equilibrium). From the
place of contentment we must continue to look upward, but also
around to see if we can extend a hand, provide a good listening
ear, and provide positive directions or just reassurance to a
fellow soul on life's journey. We need to recognize that we all
belong to the "Family of Humankind" for which, in some small way,
we all bear responsibility. It must be in our own different way,
but we all must play a part.
I apologize for not providing a silver bullet or even a
suggestion of where you should start. This problem developed over a
span of many years and it will take many years to resolve, if it
ever does. I do know that we all need to move forward with small
steps, taking each day as it comes. I could write forever on
suggestions and causes, but remember that global warming, global
conflict, ethnic differences and unrest, population growth, debt,
loss of a sense of community, and an endless litany of issues
didn't cause the problem, human inter actions did. Likewise only
human action can create the solutions that bring our society and
the world to a point of equilibrium and balance that can reduce the
stress, anxiety and depression that plagues the developed
world.
With my post "The Dreaded "D" Word," I committed to driving the
discussion on mental health and lawyer impairment issues. This one
tracks that discussion well and certainly raises more questions
than it answers. I hope those of you that read this post will
comment either directly to me or preferably by posting your
comments publically by going to the end of the post and adding a
comment., If you would like to have a more personal discussion, you
can e-mail me directly at rminto@alpsnet.com or call me
at 1-800-327-2577. You can also contact our customer service team
who all have a greater understanding of our policy form language
and interpretation than their CEO. ALPS policyholders can call or
e-mail their Account Manager and the rest of the world can call or
email Julie Patterson (1-800-367 2577, jpatterson@alpsnet.com),
Kevin Beasley (1-800-367-2577, kbeasley@alpsnet.com) or
Keith Fichtner (1-800-367-2577, kfichtner@alpsnet.com
).