Good Old American Resiliency

Some states have begun opening up. We are starting to see the "new normal" we spoke about, but for now this normalcy does not seem to be very normal. The best description of our moving forward is not turning on a light switch, but turning on a light with a dimmer. And right now, the dimmer is exceptionally low. Each movement will be a gradual rise in the light output of the dimmer. This leaves us with the same question we have had all along--how long will it take?

If you look at the markets, they have been quite resilient. The stock market has recovered approximately 50% of its initial drop in value. Even oil prices have recovered somewhat, though they are still down significantly this year. What we need now is for America to be resilient, as we have always been. We need to find a way to get back to work, yet still be safe and secure. These are certainly not normal times.

In our history, we have faced many challenges as a country. This may be one of the most important and severe of all challenges. But we will prevail by changing our behavior which will get us down the road toward medical innovations such as vaccines. This road will be beset with obstacles to overcome well beyond this year -- such as how we will pay for trillions of stimulus dollars spent. Many might change the way they work and even where they live in the future. As crazy as today's times are, our resiliency will bring some interesting changes in the future as well.