Don't let fears become self-fulfilling prophesies

We hate to draw too many comparisons between the current state of affairs and the Great Depression. Although there is certainly potential for just as much suffering as there was in those years, we hope our nation can avoid it this time around.

Still, there are parallels to be drawn, especially in what is now called "consumer confidence."

McCook Air Base historian Dale Cotton found the following in a Gazette from the 1930s.

It was credited to the Clarkson Letter via the Schlitz Brewing Co.:

A man lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs.

He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio.

He had trouble with his eyes, so he read no newspapers.

But he sold good hot dogs.

He put up signs on the highway telling how good they were.

He stood by the side of the road and cried: "Buy a hot dog, Mister."

And people bought.

He increased his meat and bun orders.

He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade.

He got his son home from college to help him.

But then something happened ...

His son said, "Father, haven't you been listening to the radio?

"There's a depression on.

"The European situation is terrible.

"The Domestic situation is worse."

Whereupon the father thought, "Well, my son's been to college,

"He reads the papers and he listens to the radio, and he ought to know."

So the father cut down on his meat and bun orders.

Took down his advertising signs.

And no longer bothered to stand out on the highway to sell hot dogs.

And his hot dog sales fell almost overnight.

"You're right, son," the father said to the boy.

"We certainly are in the middle of a great depression."

No, today is not 1929, but there certainly are wars and international conflicts that contribute to the economic downturn. Businesses need to tight belts and increase their competitiveness as much as possible to stay in business.

But, as the story of the man selling hot dogs illustrates, we shouldn't let our fears cause us to take actions that turn them into self-fulfilling prophesies.