Saw a splendidly succinct proverb in an online meme:
The opposite of depression is expression.
I normally say it two ways, both less succinct.
Men need to make things. If they can’t make things they will break things.
Graybill said it in ornate 1880 style:
The people of Free-Trade countries are therefore driven into the few occupations which are left, by reason of the destruction of their formerly more varied pursuits. Hence those diversified talents with which men are endowed are not developed but remain latent and unused, an incalculable detriment to the prosperity of their respective countries.
Henry Ford had the most direct version:
The answer is work.
National depression is the consequence of widespread personal depression. When Wall Street bombs business and industry, depriving most men of pride and purpose, the nation declines.
The answer is USEFUL WORK, leading to PRIDE OF ACHIEVEMENT.
Subsidies are not useful work. Fake “pride” as expressed in official parades and official days of Pride is not real pride. It’s not a substitute for achievement.
FDR gave the answer without words, in complete and comprehensive detail, solving both national and personal depression. He fixed both sides of the problem. First he stopped the Wall Street terrorists. Then he gave millions of men USEFUL WORK rebuilding the country, rebuilding their skills, and building a new infrastructure for real business.
The answer is FDR.
Polistra's Mill 