The Great Depression had more to do with shaping the character and defining the last century than any other event, except the great wars that caused and followed the Depression. The structure of the financial system though has radically changed since that time, in that it is many times larger, global in fact, and it is much more fragile and complex, in that it reacts nearly instantaneously to various factors. The average person is now much more dependent upon and indebted to the system as well. For instance, back in the 30's half the population was still living in rural areas and had a degree of self-sufficiency. Society, too, was more docile and governable. Hence, we see pictures of gaunt and desperate men standing patiently in soup lines to get their daily ration. That would never happen today. The cities would go up in smoke if people miss the next meal.
The one thing that hasn't changed though in the 70-year interim, is the foolishness, greed, and denial that caused the crash in the first place. In the United States the kind of thinking that the good times will never end has once again pervaded nearly everyone's mind. Even the recent 4-5 trillion dollar NASDAQ crash has been propagandized as a "market correction," a mere bump in the road to greater riches. Of course that's a lie. The financial system is mortally wounded. Many companies and nations are staggering under mounting losses as the underlying economy crumbles.
The reason this is noteworthy is that the physcology of denial, evident in the world in general, is the basic thinking behind the apostate movement today. Jesus said as much when he described the reasoning of his evil slave, who says: "My master is delaying." Evidently as the last days drag on, more and more Christians are seduced by the reasoning or ridiculers that "all things are continuing exactly the same." The evil slave then trots out the undeniable record of false expectations of the faithful slave, and says, 'See, they've been saying the system was going to end for over 100 years, and the kingdom is no nearer now than it was back then.' Of course, Jesus acknowledged that his arrival would appear to delay, even into the proverbial last watch of the night, which is obviously where we are presently. That delay is in fact what induces the apostasy among the faithless in the first place.
At any rate, Jehovah's Witnesses aren't the only ones who have suffered false expectations. I thought some of you might enjoy reading some famous last words that were uttered by "experts" in the period leading up to the Great Depression. It puts things into perspective today. More on looming doom soon. / You Know
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