Speaking to members of the Economic Club of New York yesterday, President Bush had this to say:
"I'm coming to you as an optimistic fellow, I've seen what happens when America deals with difficulty. I believe that we're a resilient economy. And I believe that the ingenuity and resolve of the American people is what helps us deal with these issues, and it's going to happen again."
Heaven help me, I never thought I'd hear these words coming out of my mouth, but I couldn't agree with President Bush more!
Born of a legitimate concern over the current downturn in the nation's economy--and particularly, in the housing sector--and fanned by a media who knows all to well that "bad news sells," we have become a nation increasingly paralyzed by fear.
Yet, as one of my favorite presidents--Franklin Delano Roosevelt--so famously said in his first inaugural address:
"...the only thing we have to fear is fear itself..."
That is one of the most iconic quotes in history. Yet, how many of us knows the rest of that quote?
"...the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
I would like to see us, as a community of real estate professionals, do our very best to "convert retreat into advance" by joining President Bush in his beliefs in the "ingenuity and resolve of the American people."
And, just as a warning, you'd better be careful today because I have no idea what the fallout might be from Hell freezing over.
For the complete text of President Bush's speech, click here.
For the complete text of President Roosevelt's speech, click here.
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