What’s My Line?
After my folks bought our first television set, our Sunday Nights became memorable for popcorn, grape Kool Aid and TV Shows. While Westerns were my favorites – Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Have Gun, Will Travel – Mom and Dad were more into What’s My Line. Panelists Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis and Bennett Cerf would attempt to guess the “line of work” of the contestants. The highlight was when, blindfolded, they attempted to identify the mystery guest. Each week the panelists thought hard and strategized carefully to solve the riddles. Most of the time they did.
Life doesn’t always work that way. As we approach this July 4th, the average American worries about many issues. The chart below shows how those worries have changed over the past four years. Climate Change, Government Debt, and Unifying the Country have fallen below 30% in popularity. Their Economic Situation, Poverty and Housing have risen on their radar.
Let me ask you a personal question. Forgetting the politics and news cycles, when you look at the list on the right, which of those have directly and significantly affected you this year? Which ones have put your life or future at risk? Which of those have impacted your family members? I suspect that the most likely issue to rise to the top is Health. It ultimately impacts us all.
When I look at the remainder of the list, I’m convicted of my detachment from most of those. Yet I know others who can’t say the same. There are people in our community who have existential issues with their economic situation, rising costs, crime, poverty, and housing. The list on the right is more personal, less theoretical than some of the list on the left.
So, the question I’m asking myself is, “What’s My Line?” How can I lighten the burden of others who genuinely suffer? Tomorrow, we celebrate Independence. Traditionally, we watch the movie version of the musical 1776. We probably need to add Hamilton. They both convey the issues our forefathers faced in forming this great experiment in democracy that we call America. Many have achieved an amazing level of independence, particularly independence from the issues on the right side of the chart. Sadly, many of the other 99% have not. What’s my role to help?
Rick Adkins, CFP®, ChFC, MBA
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