We’re a country of panic-stricken people

Throughout the national economic meltdown, we Americans have proved one thing — we are great at panicking.

Once Wall Street started tanking and a few banks went under, everyone had flashbacks to the Great Depression, even those who were born decades after the Depression ended. Now, many people are buying safes and taking their money out of banks and keeping their life savings in their homes.

Just because a handful of poorly managed banks have had problems doesn’t mean all banks are going under. But it proved once again that when a crisis hits, Americans are quick to panic.

The economy is not going to turn around any time soon, but panic will only make it worse and make it last longer.

Another recent example of Americans’ prowess of panicking was the high price of gasoline this past year, which was exacerbated by the hurricanes that smacked Texas and Louisiana and damaged refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. We quickly realized how much we rely on those refineries to supply us with gasoline.

We saw real panic here in Dothan as cars lined up at the pumps. People panicked in fear, first from grossly exaggerated estimates of how high the price would go, then the possibility of pumps drying up. Fears turned into reality, but mainly thanks to our own fear-driven panic. Not only were people filling up their vehicles, they were filling up plastic containers as well. The other problem was people just stopping to “top off” their tanks. It wasn’t long before gas stations did start running out of gasoline, and we all started wondering why.

I’m not writing this to make fun of people who have panicked, as many have experienced truly tough times. Jobs have been lost and the cost of gasoline has made life even tougher for those living paycheck to paycheck.

What will be the next panic to hit the U.S.? You never know, but the ongoing economic problems will continue to create panic. It’s all-out chaos on Wall Street. Those folks are professionals in the art of panicking. Every time someone sneezes, the Wall Street types freak out.

The other upcoming panic will happen at some point on the night of Nov. 4. McCain supporters will swear the end of the world is coming if Obama wins the election, and Obama supporters will bemoan the rich getting richer if McCain wins. One side will panic while the other rejoices, then they will fight each other for the next four years. Ah, politics. You’ve got to love it.

The good thing about Americans is usually after the initial panic, we come to our senses and are determined to overcome any obstacle. And, we usually do, even if we have different political views.

But imagine just what could happen if we weren’t so quick to panic? We would probably make times not nearly so tough on ourselves.

Ken Tuck is the managing editor of the Dothan Eagle and regional editor of Media General Alabama Newspapers. He can be reached at or 712-7960.