What to Make of it All?

I don't see how anyone can make a wise decision in our markets with the way it been going. This bipolar ride has left investors scratching their heads and wondering whether they should take the idealist or pragmatic approach to playing Wallstreet. CBS News provided a quick and ugly wrap up of this week's economy.

Option One: Is my dollar going to help raise investor confidence around me? Of course it will. The true idealist way of riding our this market trip-up would be to invest in strong stocks and tell all of their friends to do the same. Men like Warren Buffet, who have shown their expertise in the historically unstable U.S. markets, continue to invest and urge that the Americans who can afford it do the same. 

Option Two: Make like the majority of skeptical men and women during the Great Depression and hide my cash under the mattress. The downward trends in the market are too threatening to be overcome by isolated days of immense gain. As our class saw how pragmatists like Benjamin Franklin managed to equate all chance and reasoning to a simple process of data collection. When American's eyes are seeing red, (the stock graphs, that is) the pragmatist cannot help but hold onto that extra money to help pay for the day to day amenities as gas prices rise as well as food prices. 

To me, Option Two seems to be the most realistic and economically sound way of existing in this nation strived with economic turmoil. If it gets any worse, expect to see more Americans jumping on this wagon.