A Semiquincentennial Reflection

Editor's Note: This column was part of the June 18 Pulse sent to nearly 13,500 subscribers. Fifty years ago, I was in high school and that summer between freshman and sophomore year, our country celebrated its Bicentennial. NBC, the television network, conducted an essay contest for high schoolers; the theme: “What the Bicentennial means to me.” It was a national contest, so when I won an honorable mention, I thought that was pretty good..Now, 50 years later, the country is approaching its 250th anniversary, and I feel again compelled to write about the occasion. We just had Flag Day, and Independence Day is in two weeks. For the last four decades, I have worked around the banking industry, writing about the accomplishments, developments and challenges of credit allocation by community bankers. The editor’s chair at BankBeat is a great perch to witness some of the great characteristics of our nation.I have seen the resilience of the country following financial crashes in 1987 and 2008; we saw the rebound of the payments system after the attacks of 9/11; I studied how the country weathered the ag crisis of the 1980s, the tech bubble of the late 1990s and the unknown surrounding Y2K. Bankers helped the country survive the pandemic. On a local scale, we have chronicled on these pages many, many stories about small banks making a big difference, about efforts to rejuvenate Main Street, about economic development efforts that lead to the construction of an industrial park or housing project. One of the things I admire most about American business people is that many of them are willing to invest capital in their neighbor. How easy it would be to simply buy government bonds! But American investors, especially those who make their capital available to others in the form of bank loans, do so much more – and sometimes at a return that doesn’t necessarily reflect the risk! I have met many bankers over the decades who have big dreams about building their financial franchise, but they never say it is just for themselves; they always talk about their interest in helping others realize their dreams, or giving them a chance they might not otherwise get. I think part of the reason the country has done so well in 250 years is that people help each other as much — or even more — than they focus on themselves.