Recession Confession

As the US plummets into an economic recession, many bad side effects are being felt by all: the higher cost of gasoline and oil is translating to a higher cost of everything. This sucks. But, I can’t help but wonder: is there a glaring positive side to this social issue for our culture and society, too? That might sound really unpatriotic, and I’m sure I’ll be accused of being a countercultural traitor of some sort, but to me it rings true. We SHOULD be biking to work. We SHOULD be figuring out ways to cut our dependency on foreign oil, sinking resources into alternative, renewable, eco-friendly fuel sources. We SHOULD be sinking less money into other environmental, cultural, and social pollutants, like paper products, gossip magazines, and seven hundred dollar handbags. A recession will make us stop and think about where we dispose of our disposable income, since we’ll have less of it. And we might just make a lot of choices that are better for our planet, for our culture, for our global status. No one likes us anymore, America: so maybe we need this economic time-out to figure out why. So now, go ahead: call me a big fat traitor. I’m used to taking the abuse. Let me know your two cents on this social issue.