Reflections

Hello everyone, hope you have a great Thanksgiving.  
I just recently learned of my old friend, Bobby Poteete’s loss of his wife, Barbara, and I offer belated condolences.
Bobby and I go back a long way. In fact, we were sworn into service together—he in the Army and I in the Air Force. He once told me that when they said anyone who wanted to back out could do so with no questions asked. Bobby said, “Why didn’t you head for the door and drag me with you? Because I went to Korea and you had a security job in the States.”  
I saw in the “looking back” segment that a mutual friend of ours, H.F. Wright, was killed 60 years ago in Korea where he  was an Army platoon leader.  I had talked to him at a dance when we were both on leave and I remember congratulating him on his  graduation from OCS. Sixty years later we’re still sending our young men out to fight and die and not letting them win just like in the Korean fiasco. The politicians pay lip service to peace which as we all know comes only after victory.
I’ve  never been an admirer of Franklin D. Roosevelt or Harry Truman, but at least in World War II they settled for nothing less than unconditional surrender.  
Neither of them could have visualized an administration that would want to give rights to enemy combatants with lawyers to defend them. Now as Forrest Gump would say, “that’s all I have to say about that.”
When World War II ended and the troops were being discharged and returned home, little did we realize that our country was on the verge of the greatest economic boom in the history of the world.  
Take for example automobiles. The last cars made for civilians was in early 1942. Now the veterans were coming home with money and   the first thing most wanted was to buy a car since most had never owned one before.  
Enterprising dealers saw a bonanza in the making and every old clunker that would run was suddenly on the market. Ten year-old cars were selling for more than they had new. I remember 1936 Fords were a sought after model and 1939 Chevrolets a close second.  
The car manufacturers merely cranked up the 1942 models with some cosmetic changes and turned them out as fast as possible.  Prospective buyers had to get on a waiting list and with a little luck might get one in a year.
The demand was so great that many would buy a car and turn around and sell it with as much as a $500 profit. It was a sellers’ dream and of course the naysayers were screaming profiteering when all it was merely the market in action — supply and demand. I knew one man that bought and sold at least three cars and made a profit on each one.  
The car makers were hiring and we were in boom times without any bail outs from the government. It was not only in the automotive field but refrigerators, washing machines, and clothing all were in demand after four years of war time rationing.  
In all those areas labor was required and anyone who wanted a job could have one immediately. Of course the idea-logs in the regime in power today pay no attention to this because to them the government is the answer to everything and from where they draw their power.
I realize that when half of the population is content to let the other half work and support them we can’t expect much change any time soon. As a teenager I saw market forces at work and how successful they were and I suppose greedy, power-hungry politicians don’t want that because it would be a threat to them.  
I have never understood that thirst for power because it lasts for such a short time. When I lived in Texas, I visited the Johnson ranch and family cemetery and thought  about how with all the power LBJ had he wound up in a hole in the ground like everyone else.  
I appreciate the opportunity to voice my frustration with the direction our country is headed and I promise to get back to the regular format in future columns.
My email address is cncooper1@hotmail.com or write me at P.O. Box 613189 Memphis, TN 38101 and again have a happy Thanksgiving.