(The photo of Dan Rather is from his Facebook page.)Donald Trump likes to brag about how well the Sack Market is doing. That is good for the rich, but has little to do with the lives of most Americans. Dan Rather thinks we should be considering something different -- the Pain And Suffering Index of ordinary Americans. He writes:
President Trump and his allies like to crow about the record highs in the stock market. But what if there was a different kind of index with which we could take stock of the health of our republic? Let's call it a pain and suffering index. How would that be doing today? Is it a bull market or a bear market for the anxiety of the hundreds of thousands of "dreamers" who fear for their future as Washington plays political games? What is the value of the stock of hardship for the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans who are still living without electricity - or those others still suffering in the wake of natural disasters in the US Virgin Islands, Texas, Florida, and the wildfire (and now mudslide) regions out West? What would we see if we could measure the stock of the millions of Americans of the Muslim faith who wonder if this nation still believes in religious freedom, or those immigrants from countries who the President disparaged with profanity? What about the millions of Americans who worry about losing their newfound health insurance? Or the vast majority in this country who understand that the future of this planet is at risk with climate change?I think it's fair to say that the stocks in safety and security plummeted recently in Hawaii when it seemed that a nuclear weaponized missile was hurtling their way. The list could go on and on. I personally feel it every day. And I know that I am much more fortunate in my circumstances than most of my fellow citizens. Even though I am a newsman I wake up each morning with a certain dread at what new crisis or catastrophe broke overnight. I know that when someone asks me, "have you heard the latest?" my heart skips a couple beats. Each buzz of the phone leads to a brief gasp of "oh no." There is an onslaught of negativity, norm breaking, and recklessness. I think even some of Mr. Trump's most ardent supporters feel the shattering of a sense of peace. Judging from the campaign rallies, that's what they seemed to be voting for. Well here we have it. All I can hope and believe is that, as with business cycles, this cycle of pain will pass. Sadly, for some, they will lose their life savings of peace of mind in the process. It will be up to the rest of us to rebuild an economy of trust, empathy, and healing. I have found myself trying to take many more walks lately - even in the cold of a New York City winter. I breath in and deeply. And the stock ticker of anxiety fades for a while. I can remember a time when we had a president who didn't seem to cast a shadow over almost every recess of our minds - and I can picture a future where the stocks of sanity and equilibrium are once again in ascendence.
