In thinking about how difficult it could be to raise a child in these tough economic times, I've slowly come to realize that maybe it will be better in the long haul to raise a child in times that aren't so supersized and materially prosperous as, say, the mid and late 1990s? You always hear the stories of people my age with grandparents who "grew up in the Great Depression" and how they saved every nickel, bought things with cash, even houses and cars. Oh, the humanity - to not be allowed to take on obscene amounts of debt just because they saw something shiny and new they wanted…to not have the entertainment options we have; the Hi-Def TV and Blu-Ray DVD players, and to actually be connected to natural things like the water which gives communities life and the food which keeps them healthy.

Recent articles by two sources – one likely and one not-so-likely –tell me that pragmatism is coming back, whether you like it or not. And in these circles, it couldn't be more welcome.

One is by Brett Stevens; he points out that pragmatism has no choice but to re-emerge, and touches on how important this is to the family:

This view ignores the fact that middle class families create growth in cities and industry, as well as culture. They are the mainstay of all of these things and yet are a favorite target of both radical egalitarian activists and government nanny state programs that are designed to protect the irresponsible and incompetent from consequences of their actions.

Realism and discontent at society failing is causing a backlash. People want to raise their kids free from propaganda for non-procreative and family-destructive sex, drug use, anti-family lifestyles, weird politics and cults that mislead for two decades and then leave burnt-out lonely single people, etc.

The people who aren’t self-destructive don’t want to get dragged down by the irresponsibility of those who are self-destructive. Their law is one of the able: life does not make it hard to succeed enough to have a good life, and you don’t need great wealth, but you do need self-discipline, moral awareness, self control and a sense of reality.

Likewise, even people who have made their bones off writing about cars for decades are realizing that with GM and Chrysler dealership closings come sentiment from the middle class that can't be ignored: why spend all your money when you can save it; why not hold onto the old car that still runs fine and gets me to work - and does it make sense to buy a truck simply for social reasons? Royal Ford explains:

It is a schism reminiscent of the oil and gasoline crisis of the mid-1970s, when a favorite bumper sticker in Texas and other nearby states proclaimed, "Let the Yankee Bastards Freeze in the Dark."

Ironic, given that the prescient Celente predicts a seismic shift in values and behavior, writing that, "Economically, the new consciousness will recapture Yankee frugality and reject the lunatic behaviors that have been unsustainable since the Second World War — big houses, big cars, big spending."

As Celente told an interviewer for the Atlantic Free Press, "I’m gunning for something better to replace what we got. A renaissance! I’m gunning for a renaissance: an era where quality beats out the crap of quantity."

I would much rather raise a child in the type of environment where high salaries aren't handed out to B students just for showing up, where jobs are not difficult to come by but require hard work for long periods of time to obtain better jobs, where the biggest and shiniest new thing isn't put on a pedestal in comparison to participating in school sports programs, spending time outside, and vacationing with family. Along with strong cultural values comes a desire to shift away from providing for everyone just because they are breathing the same air as you. The only unfortunate part of this push toward pragmatism is that as soon as some new toy or financial instrument causes an economic bubble, 90% of the population will be back to where it started and will take as much as possible while giving nothing back. I agree with Celente, quoted by Royal Ford above: A place where quality beats quantity is exactly the type of society in which I'd like to live. This should be a permanent goal of families and society, not just something that's paid lip service in tough times.