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In the early 1950s, a public service campaign featuring a monkey and tortoise introduced the slightly bizarre ‘duck and cover’ – quite literally, bending down and covering your head with your arms – as the standard method of protecting yourself against a nuclear attack. It seems laughable now, but the US government was pretty serious about it at the time. Of course, they never actually believed in anything that was being said in the ads, but they knew that people needed to feel like they were prepared, so that should the worst case scenario occur, they had a way of protecting themselves. It meant that people could sleep a little easier and not worry about the Russians and their nuclear arsenal. Ignorance is bliss, right?

We can all have a good laugh at the expense of our previous generations, but perhaps we should think a little bit before we assume that we are beyond this kind of thinking. With the global financial crisis upon us, everyone is scared. Unshakeable pillars of our financial world have crumbled into dust, and others are being propped up by a makeshift pieces of two-by-fours and good will. Uncertainty is everywhere. And nobody likes uncertainty. Terrified companies are cutting themselves down to the bare bones, putting up the storm shutters and praying that the typhoon passes quickly. Spending money at this time seems counterintuitive. But just like ducking and covering, refusing to spend only provides a false sense of security. (more…)