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Y2K and Future Social Makeup
I have spent a great deal of time viewing,
reviewing, backtracking and searching my own feelings to come to my personal
conclusions concerning Y2K and it's inevitable affect on life as we know it
today. I cannot equate this with a Second Coming scenario since it is totally
due to the workings of man and his inability to relinquish his pride in personal
achievement. I am reminded of a scene in "Children of the Damned" in
which a young boy was giving piano lessons to an older girl. He stopped her in
the middle of her performance and told her, "Repeating a mistake does not
correct it!" Failing to correct a problem that we know about does not make
it go away either. I accept this fact but am really put off by the fact that the
government, industry, the media and individuals in prominent positions are
willing to sacrifice everyone for the sake of ego.
As many have said, there is no way of knowing how
extensive the damage will be. For many reasons I hope that the situation will
result in a number of inconvenient glitches that are corrected in short order
but in view of the track record of the people in charge I am more inclined to
start digging a hole in the back yard. I am not the kind of person that runs
around shouting that the world is coming to an end. Neither do I take the
position that if we ignore Y2K it will blow over. I have had to do things for
myself since I was young and I will do so till the day they plant me. I just
feel that there are a couple more things I want to do before I go so I am
preparing for the unknown.
Should the worst befall us I will survive but
many others will not. That is an unfortunate assessment but I fully expect that
many in the community where I live will be taken by surprise should the prophets
be right. A number of them will most probably die as a result of their inability
to adapt to the changes that will occur. I fear that there will be quite a few
funerals for those that choose to ignore the signs of impending trouble. I
regret that I will have friends and family among them. Society has brought us to
a point where we have forgotten the lessons our ancestors taught us about
self-reliance and thrift. We have been spoiled by the curiosity and tenacity of
people like Thomas Edison in proving to himself and the world that electricity
is a viable, practical form of energy. We are accustomed to going to a grocery
store for food. We drive instead of walking down the street. There are people
that live two doors from me that I do not even know.
I have accepted the fact that the job I have will
be completely out of the question should Y2K become ugly. There will be no fuel
for me to travel outside of my community to my job in the big city. We have no
public conveyance to get me there so I will, by necessity, seek employment
locally along with many others in similar circumstances. There will be a lot of
businesses disappear in our town. Most of the chain stores will be the first to
go since they will not be able to get their deliveries from regional warehouses.
The biggest asset any of us have is what we learned over the years and I am
capable of working with my hands as well as my mind.
In this world of specialization, people will have
a very difficult time picking up the pieces in the aftermath of Y2K. Does anyone
really think for a minute that Y2K will be a boon for the legal profession after
the crash? I have a suspicion that there will be a lot less interest in seeking
reparations from others and a whole lot more in being less dependent on
technology for what we need in our lives. I truly believe that there will be a
drastic change in the way our communities are governed and who does the
governing. I can see a good deal more interest being taken in elections than we
have seen recently.
The citizens of all communities vote for people
based on their knowledge of that particular person and their views. We usually
choose people whose views are in line with our personal beliefs. In recent years
fewer of the citizens have voted in elections. In fact, President Clinton was
elected by the smallest majority since the records have been kept. After the
people have been through Y2K they will look at it differently. They will have
found out the real importance of the selection they make. Many of the current
leaders will have demonstrated their lack of leadership or deserted the
communities in search of safer more comfortable environs. True leaders will
surface in the communities from the people that were not associated with the
social elite. Most local authorities will be replaced with people from the group
with the heart to stick out the hardships if it's not so bad that we resort to
tribal customs.
The social elite will fall on the hardest times
as their former friends and associates alike are reduced in status to share the
experience of the rest of the population. No more private clubs, country clubs,
trips to the Caribbean, shopping sprees and dinner parties. There will be no
more privileged class within the community. Everyone will share the same
problems of keeping warm and finding food and water. All of the plastic in the
world cannot buy the necessities of life if the banking industry goes belly up.
The accumulated wealth will be inaccessible. What will become of such people? It
is unlikely that they will ever again have the lifestyle that they had before
Y2K.
I haven't had a savings account for several
years. It isn't because I wouldn't like to have that security. I was stone broke
and I continue to recover from the setback I suffered. I am making a fair wage
now and could probably afford to set some money aside for emergencies and my
retirement but I have been paying off everything that I owe to get myself into a
position of independence that I have never known before. It feels good! If I
don't have the money in the bank at least I don't owe anyone a dime. I told you
this to let you know about my personal plan for financial survival. Even if the
banks and lending institutions are forced to take a Bank Holiday to keep the
wolves from the door, the outstanding debts will have to be paid after the
Holiday is over. By then many of the jobs that were held prior to Y2K may never
again be filled or the income levels may be significantly reduced which means
that a lot of people will have a really rough time meeting their monthly
obligations. Property values will also suffer as a result of the crash. I don't
want to be one of the people waiting for a magic cure for the problem and never
seeing a solution.
If the banks have no currency in their coffers
available to cash payroll checks or pay the electronic payroll transfers that
may or may not arrive as a result of Y2K, no one will have any money. They can't
buy the meager supplies of food and necessities that will be available even if
their jobs continue. Personal checks are only viable if there is confidence that
the money is available to draw from the bank. Where will all of the bankers and
Boards of Directors for the banks be when people arrive at the door of the
institution wanting to draw out their money? Cowering behind the counter
perhaps? At home boarding up their windows? On vacation to avoid the problem as
long as possible? We can understand and sympathize with the position of the
banks until we get hungry, then it will become proportionately less
understandable with each meal that is missed.
We cannot expect any assistance from FEMA or any
other government agency in solving our problems. Why? Because they are going to
be so tied up in metropolitan areas putting out fires and dealing with
insurrection that they won't have time for the little towns like ours. This has
a good side and bad side. The good side is that the government won't be messing
around with the resources we have available. The bad thing is, if we aren't
prepared for the emergency we will get no outside assistance to help us in our
time of need. So, as in all things, we have to depend on our own ingenuity and
fortitude to survive.
Hearings-R-Us (Congress) continues to pass the
buck and drag their feet in the interest of their constituents when it comes to
Y2K. They are all enthralled in the lurid details of a President run amuck. All
of them, Democrats and Republicans alike, are looking for a way to show that
they have taken a stand about the allegations and voiced their disgust at the
situation. The Vice-President has people reporting to him on the success or
failure of Y2K intervention programs while fending off charges of campaign
contribution violations. Added to the mix is Saddam Hussein, a militant member
of the Arabian Royal Family blowing up people and Embassies, a President with a
roving eye seeking opportune moments to engage willing females in sexual
diversions or molest any unwilling females that he chooses to assault and Al
Gore who wants to outlaw internal combustion engines (that should really please
the motor racing fans). What a crew! Is it any wonder that the Federal
Government will be the last group to meet the compliance standards that they
mandate? Perhaps someone should throw Ken Starr a rope since he seems to be the
Tidy Bowl Man of the toilet called the White House before Y2K flushes the human
debris in it into the political sewer known as Washington, D.C.
I am reminded of the first paragraph of the book
'Baron Trigault's Vengeance' by Emile Gaboriau:
Vengeance! that is the first, the only
thought, when a man finds himself victimized, when his honor and fortune, his
present and future, are wrecked by a vile conspiracy! The torment he endures
under such circumstances can only be alleviated by the prospect of inflicting
them a hundredfold upon his persecutors. And nothing seems impossible at the
first moment, when hatred surges in the brain, and the foam of anger rises to
the lips; no obstacle seems insurmountable, or, rather, none are perceived. But
later, when the faculties have regained their equilibrium, one can measure the
distance which separates the dream from reality, the project from execution. And
on setting to work, how many discouragements arise! The fever of revolt passes
by, and the victim wavers. He still breathes bitter vengeance, but he does not
act. He despairs, and asks himself what would be the good of it? And in this way
the success of villainy is once more assured.
I do not claim to speak for every man, only
myself. I found this paragraph pertinent in the fact that it states very well
the process of anger that a man might go through in a time of adversity. Many
people will experience such feelings should Y2K occur in the worst form. Some
people will recover and some won't. I cannot predict the outcome of the problems
with Y2K. No one can. We can only learn as much as we possibly can about the
problem and determine how it will affect us, personally. We can then make
preparations for the outcome that we anticipate for ourselves and our loved ones
based on our understanding of the problem. The key factor is time. We are all
aware of how long we have until 01-01-00. What you do with that time is
critical. Finger pointing is nonproductive and only results in what the
venerable John Wayne described so eloquently as, "burnin' daylight."
I am fortunate in the fact that I work in a
portion of the industry that is well informed about Y2K. Most people are, as
yet, unaware of the true nature of the problem and the possible repercussions
resulting from noncompliance. I am wary of the folks that are termed
"experts" in the many aspects of technology that will, potentially, be
affected by Y2K. Technology in all industries has become fragmented to the point
that no one can claim to be an expert in all aspects of any of
them let alone Y2K. The term "expert" denotes a person at the pinnacle
of understanding of a specific topic. That means that there is nothing to learn
about a product, process or theory that the "expert" doesn't already
know about in the minutest detail. No rational human being could ever hope to be
in such a position. It could be that the media has overused the term to the
point that it no longer has relevance.
Whatever the outcome, I am in for the long haul.
I refuse to run from it. I will not close my eyes to the possibilities and I
will no longer remain a silent witness to what I see as a gross abuse of the
public trust. If there is nothing to fear tell us so. Don't dance around the
issues with a lot of hearings, charts, graphs and drivel. If you have problems
or even think there might be tell us up front. Sure it will hurt. It will hurt
everyone. But knowledge is the master of fear and if we are prepared to meet the
consequence of poor planning and rampant ego's there will be far less in the way
of surprises to contend with. From the top to the bottom, we need to know
everything. Don't sugar coat it. Don't mince words or waste our time with
inadequate explanations of WHY it is happening. WE WANT THE TRUTH NOW!
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