No Such Thing as Normalcy
At this time of year, one hears much speculation as to what the new year will bring . . . and, too often, a pessimistic note is struck with concern about the national debt, the seemingly endless strikes and work stoppages, and “when is the country going to get back to normal.”
We like the philosophy of a friend, C. J. Kutill, publisher of a business paper, who very logically reasons that most of us forget and fail to take into account the fact that in this country with its dynamic economy there is no such thing as normalcy—we are constantly in the process of change.
To quote Mr. Kutill:
“Let us consider just a few of our national assets. We find the highest employment quotient and highest payrolls in the peacetime history of this country. We have the greatest potential productive capacity, highest national income, greatest money accumulation, American inventive genius which has brought a new high in new industries, an unsurpassed pent-up demand for goods and services . . . all this plus a land of 140,000,000 persons with a birthright never before possessed by any people. We are still a young and virile nation. We have proved that our form of government backed by a united people can emerge triumphant from a world cataclysm. We know that our democracy is equipped with all the machinery necessary to cope with the problems of its constituents. Why then should we fear the future?”
With this sound philosophy in mind, why worry about “getting back to normal?” We shouldn’t want to go back to anything.
Without change there is no progress. This country can stand changes—our economy is built on them. So let them continue. Let them come even more frequently, so that we can go forward with them. To hell with normal, we say.