The maxim, “events of the present seem much greater and more dire than events of the past,” holds truer today as ever. Over these past 18 months, our present time has brought us a pandemic, shutdowns, quarantines, travel restrictions, masks, nationwide protests & riots, re-openings, re-shutdowns, election contentions, misinformation, censoring, vaccines, unprecedented spending, migrants surging at our border, booster shots, market volatility, heightened inflation, middle east conflict, and now instability in Afghanistan and beyond… whew… Did we miss anything there? How does one keep track of all these major and complicated concurrent events?
My friends—everything—a person, company, nation—will always go through growing pains. And this may be one of the greater growing pains for America. With the political spectrum so diametrically opposed to each other, how does anyone know who to believe anymore? We have seen great suppression of information due to “misinformation” yet who determines what is and what isn’t “misinformation?” Free Speech IS the cornerstone and bedrock of our Constitution and Democracy along with being our very First Amendment for a reason. Let us all tread very carefully whenever we decide to suppress any speech—for this is the American way. And today, we do recognize the many sins of America, but let us also recognize the many virtues of America. For if we do not cherish our country’s foundation, our country will cease to exist—this is true for anything in life.
We live in a nation that has been immensely blessed over time—enriching millions and lifting millions out of poverty in America and around the world. We are blessed to live in America, and we should be thankful. No place in the world has more opportunities than America. No place in the world has a better economy than America. No place in the world has a better Constitution than America. And no place in the world has been a better beacon of hope for the world. Be wise for all to pause and understand America’s greatness (with sins—like any country or anyone) and how fortunate we all are to live here. People across the world may understand this more than some of us because EVEN TODAY there are millions and millions actively pursuing to come to America—many by desperate measures.
How do we decrease the perpetual and exponential chaos ensuing our world? We learn from our history with respect and humility—understanding that although we may know more things today than the past, this does not make us wiser at all. Wisdom comes not only from knowledge BUT ALSO, more importantly, from experiences and studying history. Most believe that with more knowledge automatically comes more wisdom. But without wisdom, knowledge grows without the anchor of truth—sprouting falsehoods and misinformation that we see abundant today.
America sees a plethora of major challenges now and on the horizons. Markets do not like uncertainty and all these major challenges bring with them great uncertainty. We know inflation has been running hot over the past several months. Almost everything costs much more than a year ago—real estate, gas, groceries, everyday goods, and even the stock market. The stock market has had a remarkable run since its trough in March 2020—stemming from the shutdown announcements. Given that our entire money supply has increased OVER 30 percent over these past 18 months, it makes complete sense that almost everything—including the stock market—is much higher. However, we DO KNOW, as always, that we will have another market pullback in the future—but when? With greater and faster rises in the market, the greater and faster a decrease can happen. YES, a diversified portfolio STILL makes great sense to hedge against potential and violent future swings—especially, as one grows their financial portfolio and exposes themselves to HUGE dollar swings. Alternatives (gold, real estate, commodities, lithium, etc.) could be a great hedging strategy today with all the money our government has printed.