Barbarians at the Gate

For Roman Catholics today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. At Mass this morning our homilist reminded us of the feast’s origin. Given the current financial meltdown, it’s worth recalling that bit of history. In the fall of 1571 Christendom faced an existential threat from the Ottoman Empire. Constantinople had fallen more than a century before. The Black Sea was an Ottoman Lake. All of Asia Minor, most of Southern Europe, and North Africa were Ottoman. Turkish ships raided almost at will in the Northern Mediterranean. Ottoman conquest seemed unstoppable and word came that a Turkish fleet had been formed to take Italy. As Dominicans met in Rome to pray the Rosary, a Christian fleet met and defeated the Turks at Lepanto. It was one of the most decisive naval battles ever. Pope Pius V set aside the date to honor Our Lady of Victory. We’ve since changed the name but still celebrate the anniversary.

In light of all that it seems trite for pundits and some officials to be calling the present crisis existential. I can’t find a reason to panic. Gas prices are still through the roof but rush hour traffic doesn’t seem to have slowed. I don’t see as many brand new SUVs as I did but I’m still seeing them with temporary license plates. Somebody is buying. I’ve heard so much about a crunch I checked my credit union web site. They are offering their normal range of loans at good rates and asking for the usual collateral. Just to be sure I called and asked. Yep, they are still lending. Adjustable rate mortgages run from 4.7% to 5.7%. I’m not sure I know anybody that has a sub-prime mortgage. I’m still getting those credit card offers in the mail. My retirement portfolio is down but that has happened before. Every bit of financial advice I ever got was to keep at least several months cash on hand and never invest money in the stock market I expect to need any time soon. If a bear market lasts very long Lynne and I will have to tighten our belts but if we can’t eat caviar we won’t be reduced to cat food either. Housing prices may have dropped but our house isn’t for sale. Unemployment is up but it has been worse.

Now don’t get me wrong. For a good part of our marriage we lived from one paycheck to the next and a sudden job loss could have meant big trouble. That’s happening to more and more people right now and I can relate to them. My point is I don’t see that a credit squeeze is affecting me personally very much, at least not yet. My friends don’t share financial details with me but if it’s affecting them it isn’t obvious. They are more likely to complain about gasoline prices. Church contributions are steadier than they were after the telecom bust. If there are dramatic changes in lifestyle in our community I don’t see them. Nor do I see the end of the world as we know it.

A lot of very smart people say we have a serious economic problem and a big bailout package is in order. I have to go along though I confess it makes me wince when I hear congressmen and senators justifying it (as several have) because their local used car salesmen are complaining. It seems to me a matter of principle that banks in trouble with bad investments should be allowed to fail. Otherwise solvent banks experiencing a run on deposits can borrow from the Fed, can’t they? Isn’t that what the Fed is for?

Sixteenth century Christians had cause for concern. Ottomans and Arabs before them had been very nearly invincible for nine centuries. More that half of Christendom had been lost. Their biggest enemy was fear. One naval victory went a long way toward turning that around. So did prayer. Fear is our number one enemy today too. Prayer might be in order once more. I plan to thank God for what I have and try not to worry.