Put hard times into perspective

[grasswire]

I'm reading a book containing letters written to Hoover, FDR, and Eleanor Roosevelt during the Great Depression. As bad as things are now, they were great leaps worse then. And as much as we think we know about the Depression, I urge you to get this book and read what the voices out of the past have to tell us.

Women used to write to Eleanor Roosevelt and beg her to mail her old underwear or old coat because the clothes of the poor were literally shredding off the backs of these poor American women. Women wrote to beg her to help get some baby clothes, or help the husband find any kind of work because a new baby was coming, or the house was being lost, etc.

Families were starving. The men and older children would leave the house during meals because the younger children needed the food and there was a risk that the men and older kids would take it because they were so very hungry. In some families, half of the people ate one day, half the next.

Many people had no household things left. No bedding, no water, no heat. And no warm clothing. No medicine, not even for a diabetic woman.

They did have thoughts of family suicide. One man wrote to FDR to ask what the best way would be to dispose of his family, as there was no hope; nothing left to do.

Some railed against the bankers and the industrialists. Most adored FDR and believed that if he only knew how bad things were, help would be on the way.

All were humiliated by their circumstances.

So I guess most of us have a long way yet to go. But we must start resisting the powers that drive people to such desperation more vigorously. We must demand that our candidates address poverty and the basics of life -- affordable universal shelter and health care, and work that will support a family.

The name of the book is "Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man."

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. I made exactly this point yesterday

we are well on our way to that horror, but we are not there yet

I even made the point that people walked seventy miles HOPING to find a job... people just don't get it

Kudos to you

[readmoreoften]

2. That's why we're not in a depression. Yet.

And since we export our slaves, those conditions have be relocated to the global Southern Cone.

[babylonsister]

5. We export our slaves? Do tell. nt

[Tunkamerica]

12. import?

[JeffR]

3. I remember my father's stories of how a ketchup sandwich was a

luxury back then when he was a kid. Most of us now do have a long way down to go at this point, but too many of us have already slid pretty far down that hill. And the grade gets steeper and more of us slip over the peak every day.

[EFerrari]

11. My mom's family took political asylum in the slums of Mexico City.

I have a snapshot of her and my favorite aunt when they were about 12. They both look like those photos of Anne Frank.

Their mom used to go to radio shows and enter contests to win the prize money. And Mom and her sister would immediately go buy pan, bread. Not candy, not a burger, not a soft drink, bread. All my mom's generation knew hunger pretty intimately. When I was little and they were recent immigrants here, our family meals were strictly portioned. I never realized until much older that there could be more than one helping of anything.

Looks like we get to find out what matters, again.

[Sherman A1]

16. It was potato sandwiches for my grandfather to take with him while

looking for work, cardboard in the shoes to cover the holes, he eventually ended up in the South building a road or something contracting health problems, then got a government recovery job in Illinois helping others get back to work. My Mom (now 88) still tells stories of using a pen to color her leg where the holes were in her socks so she could go to school and not be embarrassed. To this day her grocery shopping is still something of an exercise in hoarding. The pantry, freezer and fridge are always full! I believe it is a product of the mindset of that era.

[mahina]

4. My grampa, who grew up in the Depression, used to ask us

"Are we going to eat today?" He had dementia, and he would slip in and out.

From literally dirt poor, no floor in the house, just dirt, all four brothers put each other through college and professional school. God bless him and his brothers forever.

[grasswire]

7. they would never have imagined a time...

....when people would give away bags of clothing and household goods each year -- just bag it up and get rid of it.

[many a good man]

17. At the end of EVERY meal, my grandfather used to say these words:

"Thank the Lord for that last bite. Many a good man would make a meal of it."

As the son of an immigrant who was half Irish-half American Indian, he knew dire poverty from the time he was born in 1908. He entered Democratic party politics at an early age dedicated to alleviating the suffering he saw all around him. He never forgot what it is all about and never will I.

[babylonsister]

6. My dad told me in 2000, * will create Hoovervilles. He was right. nt

[OffWithTheirHeads]

8. comming soon to a city near you

Thanks George.

[ColbertWatcher]

9. Thank you for the book recommendation, however...

...just because you believe things may have been worse during the Great Depression that doesn't mean the situation we are in now is acceptable.

Remember, prior to the Depression, the government did little to nothing to help people in need. The safety net of social programs that we used to enjoy (before Reagan) was created in the hopes of avoiding a repeat of the Depression.

And yet, we're on the verge of a very bad mess as though we have learned nothing.

For me, we shouldn't be in this situation; we've made these mistakes before, we invented the solution for it, we should know better.

[grasswire]

10. I don't believe it's acceptable.

And if you will read toward the end of my post, I urge us all to force politicians to address issues of poverty and housing and medical care.

I specifically got this book because I know we are only at the beginning of this and wanted to understand the everyday experiences of those who lived it here at home not that long ago. I research topics for a liberal minister in my family and give suggestions for sermon materials. This topic -- how we will live -- is part of that.

[ColbertWatcher]

21. The title you chose was: "Put hard times into perspective"

And, you posted:

"As bad as things are now, they were great leaps worse then."

I agree that things were bad during the Depression, but I feel it is unfair to compare the current situation with the Depression, because it implies that since it was worse then than it is now, anyone complaining has no "perspective".

In my opinion no comparison is possible because the situations are different:

a. there were no social safety nets during prior to the Depression
b. the social safety nets we (used to) have shield us from some of the hardships people suffered during the Depression

Also, in my opinion, the only reason people are suffering currently is due to the weakening by the GOP of those very social safety nets created to avoid another Depression, starting with Reagan and continuing to this day with every person who repeats that crap about "pulling oneself up by the bootstraps".

For me, we shouldn't be in this situation; we've made these mistakes before, we invented the solution for it, we should know better.

BTW, I did read your whole post.

[Speck Tater]

13. There are two kinds of people in the world.

Those who have read Grapes of Wrath and those who haven't.

For any of you out there who haven't, do read it please. I can't even imagine that anyone could read Grapes of Wrath and remain a Republican. I must conclude, therefore, that no Republican has ever read it.

[sandnsea]

14. We have food stamps, WIC, school meals,

summer food programs, many many more nets to catch people before they fall as far as happened in the Depression. I think those programs keep us from Depression by keeping a base amount always flowing into the economy. But grocery prices have doubled in just months, it's horrifying really.

[fasttense]

15. Here's the thing.

Just because problems are worse somewhere else or in our nation's past, why should that make our current suffering and corruption any better? Is it the "misery loves company" syndrome or the "I can look down on someone worse off" syndrome?

I just don't get it. The bushes do this all the time. They point out times in our nation's past that allowed criminals and thugs to prosper in our government and say see you really don't have it so bad. But somehow this never makes me feel any better about the current suffering and corruption.

[DailyGrind51]

18. During the Great Depression, people were willing to share and sacrifice.

Today, you mention giving up cable TV or their cell phones, and it's unthinkable. We are so used to convenience, that anything less is considered a "hardship".

[raccoon]

19. I'll always wonder why there wasn't a revolution then. I think because of lack of organization.

If things become like that again in the US, our cities will be in ashes.

[CrispyQ]

20. My mother passed away last summer.

My sister & I had the task of cleaning out Mom's place & going through her things. My sister found a small box with a variety of odd objects in it, including a book of odd stamps that she tossed in the garbage. I grabbed stamp book out of the trash & held them up to my sister, asking incredulously, "Don't you know what these are?" They were my mothers ration stamps. My sister is 11 years younger than I am & claims that Mom never told her stories about the depression. I remember them well. How they were alloted small amounts of luxury items like sugar. Sugar a luxury item!!

Our consumerist society has no fucking clue what it was like, although I fear we are going to find out. There will be no ration stamps next time. Or rather, ration stamps will be cash -- if you have the cash you will be able to buy food & things. If you don't you will be fucked. There will be no sharing or rationing the resources in our 'compassionate conservative' society. You're On Your Own.

An odd thought: I have a small box of jewelry, mostly semi-precious stones & metals, that I never wear. I've considered selling it on Ebay, but then the thought that someday one of those pieces might buy a much needed bag of rice or beans enters my head & I realize the America I grew up in no longer exists.

Grasswire, thank you so much for this post. I'm going to look for this book at my local library. Also, please consider posting in the non-fiction book forum, too.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=209

[DailyGrind51]

22. My grandmother's ration WWII book

After my parents past away, in their photos and papers I found
my grandmother's ration books from WWII.  Here is the text
from the back page:

"Rationing is a vital part of your country's war effort.
This book is your Government's guarantee of your fair share of
goods made scarce by war, to which the stamps herein will be
assigned as the need arises.

  Any attempt to violate the rules is an effort to deny
someone his share and will create hardship and discontent.

  Such action, like treason, helps the enemy.

  Give your whole support to rationing and thereby conserve
our vital goods. Be guided by the rule:

  "If you don't need it, DON'T BUY IT." 


In light of your own experience, how do you think this message
would fly today?

[Hydra]

23. You might think we have a ways to go yet

But many of us here at the bottom are there already.

Clothes rotting of back? That's my wardrobe.

Leaving the house during meals? I skip meals so that my disabled relative won't have to go without.

No household things left? We were refused help this winter by utility assistance. They claimed that we made too much money, despite being 2 months behind on our electric and gas.

Everyone on DU who is still doing well count your blessings and enjoy every bite you get- you'll know what it's like soon enough.