Better Off?

So, are you better off today than you were four years ago? That’s the question that’s being bandied around the airwaves as we count down the days to the presidential election. 

In 1965, my parents lived in a comfortable home that they (and the bank) owned.  They had one car, three kids, and my dad worked one job as a carpenter while my mother stayed home to care for the house and the family. We walked to the neighborhood school, and came home for lunch every day.  We had a swimming pool in the backyard because my dad’s job didn’t allow time for vacations in the summer. One black and white television, 3 channels. One phone. The Buffalo Bills were AFL champions. The Browns went 11-3.

Fast forward 25 years. In 1990 Larry and I lived in a comfortable home.  We drove two cars, had three kids, and both worked long hours while wishing we had Alice from the Brady Bunch to clean our house and take care of the family. Three color televisions, cable. Two phones, one that was cordless.  The Browns were 3-13. Were we better off?

It’s now 2012. Our adult son and daughter-in-law live in a small home that they and the bank own, and yes, it’s probably worth less than what they paid for it six years ago. They both work full-time, Greg goes to school full time, and the lovely Madelyn Simone has gone to day care since she was 8 weeks old, except for the glorious day each week we spend together. They have Direct TV, with a gazillion stations so we can watch Bubble Guppies, wireless internet, and i-phones.  For the record – Madelyn does not have a cell phone, although she knows what to do with mine. The Browns are 0-5.  Are we better off? How do we define “better off”?

If we’re truly a nation of spoiled, self-centered materialists, then I suppose the question is an appropriate one to ask. Oh, that sounds judgmental, doesn’t it? But at some point, it can’t be all about the stuff we have. When do we ask, “Do my neighbors have what they need?” rather than “Do we have everything we want?”

Life is more than fame or fortune. Do I wish I had more money in my pocket today? Sure, who doesn’t? But would I trade an extra handful of cash or a fancier cell phone for the time spent with my precious granddaughter? Absolutely not.

Here are the more vital questions. Should there be a safety net of protection for the most vulnerable in our country, or isn’t that our problem? Should social security be protected because I want to get what’s coming to me, or should we work together to find solutions that will insure that those without adequate resources in retirement are taken care of (the original goal of social security)? Should I vote “no” on the school levy so that I have more money of my own while our community’s kids rattle around in that dreary, decrepit middle school? The answers we give to these kinds of questions define what living in community, and yes, what living in America mean to us. My parents knew what it used to mean. Say it with me: “It’s not all about me!” Does it still mean that today?

 Back to the question: are we better off? The answer for me is not about whether my family is better off economically than we were four years ago. The answer has less to do with who the president is and more to do with the fact that we have an openly elected president (even with all the political commercials) and not a dictator. We have freedom of speech – we can blog to our heart’s delight and protest without fear of incarceration. We’re working toward having affordable health care for everyone.  All of our children can go to school – girls and boys. It’s not like that everywhere.   

Those are the reasons we’re better off as Americans. I may not be able to afford a new car this year, but maybe the Browns will beat the Bengals – then we’ll be better off for sure!