afraid of…

I have heard countless times the last several months that Americans are afraid. Actually, “sacred to death” is the more common expression. The fear is centering on the topic of finances. So I decided to think a little deeper about this idea. What exactly are we afraid of?

We are afraid of:
Not being able to pay our mortgages
Losing our jobs
Not being able to retire when we want to
Having to adjust our lifestyles

The people that I have talked to who are the most afraid have the most to lose. They have a lot in the bank. They have to spread their money around to keep it safe. If the economy totally crashes, they will lose a lot.

Now, I do not want to come across as a jerk but let’s put a couple of things in perspective.

Millions of people around the world don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
Kids is Africa have no clean water to drink.
People in India are starving.
Many Asians live with next to nothing.
And we worry about not being able to make our boat payment.
We have had to cut back on trips to Starbucks.
Our continent is the most blessed, if economics are a blessing.

I realize that there is genuine poverty in America. We have poor among us. But this economic crises hasn’t changed their lives much. They had nothing before, they have nothing now.

I feel bad for people who can’t afford a vacation. People who are looking longingly at retirement have my sympathy. But I am not afraid for them. I am afraid for the starving kids of the world.

Any thoughts?