[hwers]

I learned the other day that Bertrand Russell mentioned in his memoirs that almost all his time during the war was pleasantly spent in his house somewhere. Made me realize that war is kind of localized and isn't necessarily 'the end of the world' for everyone (not the constant dark smoky airplane filled skies that we imagine from e.g. movies).

[simonh]

It's the same with economic recessions. For those impacted through losing their job, defaulting on their mortgage, etc the impact is devastating, but if you keep your job and live a little more frugally the impact can be relatively minor. The pain is very unevenly distributed.

[TMWNN]

To put another way, the peak unemployment rate in the US during the Great Depression (and of all time) was 21% early in the Roosevelt administration.

That meant that 79% had a job. Yes, yes, that doesn't mean that all 79% could pay all their bills, etc. That does mean, though, that a large majority of Americans saw their paychecks go further in terms of lower food and housing costs.

[laurent92]

There are countless testimonies of soldiers waiting days and days on field, breathing flowers, waiting for the coup, with birds singing during the day and beautiful stars at night. It’s sometimes hard to acknowledge that this can be the landscape of horror too.