CAN WE ALL JUST AGREE ON ONE THING? Most Americans have been put through the financial wringer.

For some, the devastation was immediate beginning in 2007. Many others clung on by the skin of their teeth and somehow clawed their way through the mess, emerging damaged but somehow still intact.

According to the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. Perhaps on a statistical level this may be true, but almost five years later, the damage is still lingering for many.

The housing market began the long climb out of the abyss for most parts of the country in the second quarter of 2012. This is significant — at least for the folks who managed to hang onto their homes — because for many their home represents their largest single asset. But as we know, millions were not able to hang on, and for those families the long climb back to prosperity has been especially difficult.

When I fell off my lofty corporate executive pedestal and decided to return to retail lending at the local level, it was not by accident that I focused my energy on helping families recover from the damage of the recession. Hardly a day goes by in my professional life that I don’t encounter somebody who has been impacted and still has not been able to fully recover.

The stories range from folks caught up in the housing bubble who struggled to make their payments and keep their homes (while they watched their neighbors walk away from their homes as values continued to plummet), to the elderly couple that desperately wants to relocate in retirement but can’t because they co-signed for a family member on a home lost during the crisis.

I meet many people who were severely affected through no fault of their own. Despite being torn apart by the recession, they still have hope. They still believe in the American dream of homeownership. They still believe, just as our forefathers did, that America is a land of opportunity.

I too believe America is still a land of opportunity; more importantly I believe in the American people and the strength and resilience of the people who make up this great nation. I guess that is why I get so frustrated by the vocal minority who seem to think it is the government’s role to give a hand out instead of a hand up.

It seems that somehow we have lost track of the guiding principle that hard work will be rewarded with greater opportunity. In some cases we even get indignant when others succeed, instead of applauding their success.

I believe that we can do better. We can help people up without the oppression of relying on government for a handout. That we as a people can make a difference, and it is about time we started. President Kennedy said it best when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

Guy Benjamin (CA BRE License #01014834) writes a weekly column for The Herald, offering general information on real estate matters. As it is impossible to address all possibilities and variations, he will try to answer individual questions by readers who contact him at 707-246-0949 or gbenjamin@rpm-mtg.com.

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