measure of success
unselfish spirit exists
purpose, dignity

It was Bill Clinton who famously said, “It’s the economy, STUPID!”

So call me stupid, but what is the economy and how do we measure it so we can understand if things are good or if things are bad.

The one economic rule of thumb that really made sense to me was that when other people had no money, it was a recession.

When I had no money, it was a depression.

The reporters and commentators on economic news of late seem to feel that the economy is doing okay, even good considering the covid and all.

Maybe even the impact of covid with have good long term economic imact.

Then the reporters and commentators start throwing out the economic textbook alphabet code words like GNI, PPP, OECD, GDP, Nominal GDP and REAL GDP.

By the time the reporters and commentators are done, I have tuned out and I listen for one word.

Good.

Bad.

After all, it’s the economy STUPID.

Then, feeling stupid, I ask good for who and bad for who?

A long time ago, Robert Kennedy questioned the use of economic factors as a measure for a success of a Country.

In one of the first speeches in his 1967 Presidential Campaign, speaking at the University of Kansas and speaking, according to legend, without notes Mr. Kennedy talked about GDP.

(First, a reminder that GDP measures those activities for which money changes hands or for which a monetary value can be attached. Paid childcare is included, but unpaid childcare by family members or friends isn’t.)

Mr. Kennedy said:

” . . .the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play.

It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials.

It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.

And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.“

BOY HOWDY!

I mean gee whiz just off the bat I love this just for the way Mr. Kennedy said it.

Then I love what he said.

Then what he said just, well, makes me sad.

Mournful, you know what I mean.

So much has happened lately that can tell us so much about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

Will Rodgers would imitate President Calvin Coolidge giving a speech (a bit of humor that President Coolidge did not appreciate) and would deliver a text like:

“The County as a hole is prosperous. I did not say the whole Country is prosperous but the Country as a hole. Usually, a hole is NOT prosperous. And this Country is in a hole.”

We are in a hole.

A hole that we dug.

As Mr. Kennedy said, “no one – neither industry, nor labor, nor government – has cared enough to help.”

I wonder if we can get out.

So much has is gone and still as Mr. Kennedy said, ” … there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction – purpose and dignity – that afflicts us all.”

But Bobby also said, “I think we here in this country, with the unselfish spirit that exists in the United States of America, I think we can do better here also.”

Can we get back there?

Can we go forward to get there?

Make America Great with an unselfish spirit.

For that answer I have to return to Mr. Kennedy’s GDP speech again and to Mr. Kennedy’s quote from George Bernard Shaw.

“Some people see things as they are and say, ‘why?’ I dream things that never were and say, ‘why not?’“

How it all started
Well, that was some weird shit … now
the fat lady sings

“Well, that was some weird …”

So commented someone in attendance at the Trump Inaugural 4 years ago.

So commented someone in attendance at the Trump Inaugural 4 years ago just minutes into the Trump Administration as Trump finished his Inaugural Address to the nation.

Remember that speech?

The one where Trump said, “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”

When he finished someone turned to the people nearby and said, “Well, that was some weird shit.”

That someone was George W. Bush.

By some accounts President Bush said it out loud to Hillary Clinton.

Mrs. Clinton herself tells the story that way.

More than anyone knew, President Bush summed up the speech and previewed the next four years.

Four years that are ever so slowly coming to an end.

It was Yogi Berra who famously said “it ain’t over until its over“.

This gets repeated in close athletic contests all the time.

Another phrase that gets used a lot, especially in late game, come from behind unexpected victories , is that “it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.“

The statement is supposed to be a reference to attending opera performances, especially performances of Wagnerian Opera’s that last for a week or more.

The message is you know the opera is over when the fat lady sings.

Another story on the phrase I have in my head is that the fat lady singing was the traditional closing act back in Vaudeville days.

It also seems to me that the last act was bad on purpose as it made the crowd want to go home.

Much like Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport is designed to help the crowd appreciate and look forward to their own homes even more.

And for some reason I always thought the fat lady sings was a Yogi Berra saying.

So I was surprised to feed the phrase into the Google and learn that the phrase is of relatively recent origin.

According to Wikipedia, “The first recorded use appeared in the Dallas Morning News on March 10, 1976:
Despite his obvious allegiance to the Red Raiders, Texas Tech sports information director Ralph Carpenter was the picture of professional objectivity when the Aggies rallied for a 72–72 tie late in the SWC tournament finals. “Hey, Ralph,” said Bill Morgan, “this… is going to be a tight one after all.” “Right”, said Ralph, “the opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”

1976?

I was sure it went back much further than that but who wants to argue with Wikipedia.

As Mr. Berra said, “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”

Wikipedia states that: “The phrase is generally understood to be a reference to opera sopranos, who were traditionally overweight. The imagery of Wagner’s opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and its last part, Götterdämmerung, is typically used in depictions accompanying uses of the phrase.”

Wikipedia also lists phrases with similar meanings
“It ain’t over till it’s over“, a phrase popularized by baseball player Yogi Berra.
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”, a well-known saying which originated in the 16th century.
“The future isn’t carved in stone“, a phrase meaning that the future can always be changed.
“Nothing is carved in stone” or “It isn’t carved in stone.” a phrase meaning a situation or plans can be changed.

The last one calls to mind when my Father died back in January of 1988.

1988?

Boy, Howdy! But does that seem like a long time ago.

When my Father’s tombstone was delivered we all went out to see it.

The stone cutter had made a mistake common to the month of January and the tombstone displayed the year of death as 1987.

We all looked at the stone and we looked at the date and we looked at each other.

As I remember it my brother Steve looked around and said, “What can we do? It IS carved in stone!”

My Dad would have liked that.

But I digress.

I was struck by the Wikipedia entry about my phrase in question and that it stated it is understood to refer to the Götterdämmerung in Wagner’s opera cycle.

Feed Götterdämmerung into the google and the google says that a Götterdämmerung is a collapse (as of a society or regime) marked by catastrophic violence and disorder.

Well if that doesn’t make you put the coffee down and quote President Bush I don’t know what will.

It is time for the fat lady to sing.

Maybe she has been singing for some time.

I feel like I have wanted to go home and appreciate home for some time.

And the song she is singing is, “Well, that was some weird shit.”