How will we handle the burden of memory?

Lessons from the past often tell us about potential losses in the future. I heard an elderly comedian recently say that he walked into an antique store, and they wouldn’t let him out. I could relate to that one.  

As someone who is about to turn 77, I find myself thinking about the past and its implications for the future. I recall a conversation a few years back with a friend who is about 20 years younger than me. We were talking about an event from the past, and I was able to tell him a lot of the inside story since it was something I had seen first-hand and knew the details. He said, “You’re like a walking history book.” I told him that when you reach my age, you really are a walking history book if only you still have enough memory to recall it.

As you contemplate the future and your place in life today, there are important things to consider. What should an old man do? What should he be? No longer raising children. No longer a captain of industry nor even a cog in the machine. No longer fit for battle or a leading man in a romantic comedy. What is his role in society? Perhaps it is to remember?

In ancient Ireland, traditional Gaelic storytellers or historians were employed to recall the lessons of the past. Wise men, poets, and tellers of tales reminded kings and commoners of the great heroes of the past, their triumphs and their defeats. Some were real historical figures. Some were mythological. Scholars differ on what was real and what was not.

And now, with the duty of memory, what should an old man do? Shouldn’t he remember and remind…and warn? Maybe the great snowstorm of ’58…the great drought of ’62…the flood of ’75? Shouldn’t he tell his grandchildren to stock up on firewood…and head for high ground? Shouldn’t he recall the bear market of ’66-82…the crash of Japanese stock market in 1990…the inflation of the ’70s…and the Vietnam War? Watching for sin with one eye and error with the other, shouldn’t the two eyes come together in a studied warning: ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you?’

Of course, the young will ignore his unsolicited advice. But so what? Just because his counsel is unwelcome doesn’t diminish his duty to give it out, plain and simple. And like old, blind Tiresias (In Greek mythology, Tiresias was the blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes), he can turn on his heels with a bit of dignity and a little mockery: Just send me home. You bear your burdens, and I’ll bear mine. It’s better that way; please believe me.

Later, he can have the pleasure of saying, “I told you so.” There are a few advantages of old age. The ‘I-told-you-so’s’ are one of them. Yes, you can get discount tickets at some theaters, get in free at some museums, and get the all-you-can-eat buffet at 5 pm at some restaurants. But the big advantage is that you have seen more Big Losses. You know what they look like. What Could Go Wrong? King Creon ignored the blind old man and went on to suffer the Big Loss. He lost a son and a niece. (This is a Greek tragedy, after all.) And if you are over the age of 70, you’ve probably seen some Big Losses yourself. Marriages that broke up, companies that broke down…people who went. broke…crashes…murders…massacres…mistakes…lies…vain and transitory glories. And all of us are always perched on a razor’s edge of fate…the sides so close together we can barely tell them apart. And yet, toppling over in the wrong direction can be tragic.

Remember the disappointment felt by investors after the stock market boom ended in 1966…the shock of inflation in the ’70s…and the debacle of the Vietnam War? In 1966, investors had the “Nifty Fifty” as their version of today’s “Magnificent 7.” They were supposed to be ‘one decision’ investments that you could have and hold until death did you part. They were the best companies, in the best stock market, in the best economy, during the best decade, in the best nation in history. Eastman Kodak, 3M, Procter and Gamble – they had the best technology…and so much money; they could hire the best engineers and managers. What could go wrong?

And yet, where did they go after 1966? Nowhere. The group of favorites was more or less flat for the next 16 years. And that was in nominal dollar terms. Adjusted for inflation, investors lost 70% to 80% of their money.

And then came the ’70s. Inflation came in waves, not just in one single episode. The first splash arrived in 1969, when prices shot up 6%. Then, inflation went down to 3%…and the feds said it was over. But the next wave, in 1974, pushed prices up at a 12% annual rate. After that wave crested, inflation went down to around 6%, and again, people said there was no further need to worry about it. The final hit didn’t come until 1979 – 10 years after the first one, with inflation at a 13% rate. Let’s hope we do better this time around.

Through much of this period, 1966 to 1975, a morbid absurdity hung over the US – the Vietnam War. Remember the domino effect of communism that we had to stop in Southeast Asia? The idea was to keep the Vietnam domino from falling over. Those of us over 70 may recall friends who went to ‘Nam’ and never came back alive. The US squandered so much money on the war that President Nixon felt obliged to go ‘off the gold standard’ – setting in motion the financialization of the economy…the huge rise in debt…and the potential bankruptcy of the US empire.

We remember the arguments in favor of continuing the war, which are now used to prolong the proxy war against Russia. We had to maintain our ‘credibility’ by stopping them [communists] there; otherwise, we’d have to face them in California. To turn away would be appeasement. Had the North Vietnamese actually had a blue water navy, and had they used it to launch an assault across the vast Pacific, we would have been ready for them. As it turned out, the domino fell, and nobody cared. Americans now take vacations in Vietnam and buy cheap T-shirts and running pants from Vietnamese mills. A trillion dollars down the rat hole…a million dead …apparently, for nothing.

Yes, like old, blind Tiresias, we’ve seen our share of misery, crackpottery, and jackassery.

Shouldn’t we Geezers say something? Talk to the old guys like me for background and history. If nothing else, you’ll probably get some great stories. Thanks for reading.