Castor Oil and Milk of Magnesia were two extremely bad tasting medicines that haunted me throughout my childhood. Just the thought of swallowing either one caused me to hide under my bed hoping that my mother couldn’t find me. On more than a few occasions, I went to school with a stomachache that was doing somersaults and a headache that had me seeing stars. I couldn’t make myself take the medicine. I just couldn’t. Somehow though, my mother convinced me that the horrible taste of the medicine would only last for a brief moment, but my headache and stomachache could last for several days. She made me realize that no matter how bad the medicine tasted, it was the best thing for me. So, I mustered up the courage and took the dreaded medicine. I soon realized that she was right. What I had been so deathly afraid of was actually the best thing for me. I had learned a very valuable lesson that day, and I have tried to apply that lesson in every facet of my life.
As I look at America, I can’t help notice the severity of the problems our country faces. Thousands of Americans joining the ranks of the unemployed, the continued devaluation of the dollar, employers demanding more and more from their workers while paying less and less, disenfranchised college graduates feeling as though they’ve been short-changed their piece of the American Dream, and political leaders more concerned with advancing their careers and increasing their bank accounts than implementing policy and legislation that could benefit all of us. It is easy for all of us to see that our problems are numerous. In fact, I could even describe our economy as being sick, and I’m sure some would agree that that description is fairly accurate. Although most of us may not know exactly what caused our nation’s problems, many of us are experiencing the symptoms of our nation’s illness first-hand.
I would be one of the first people to say that I don’t know the answers to all of our problems. Like most, I never saw it coming. However, it would be nice to hear our political leaders tell us the truth. Not the sugar-coated, easy to swallow, half-truth. I want the extremely hard to hear and difficult to accept truth, and I’m pretty sure that a lot of other people feel the same way. No matter how bad the truth about our problems may be, being lied to or acting like they don’t exist simply prolongs our nation’s illness. Let’s do it. Let’s muster up the courage to tell the truth about our nation’s problems, implement viable economic strategies and legislation that will create impactful positive change, and be willing to endure the time it takes to truly experience a recovery. It won’t be easy. We’ve become so accustomed to living above and beyond our means that the financial withdrawal will be hard to endure. But, the alternative is far worse. If we, simply, continue to act as if nothing is wrong in order to avoid doing what’s in our country’s best interest, one day soon we will wake up in a country that is totally unrecognizable. Let’s do it. Let’s take our medicine. I’m certain that, as a nation, we will feel much better afterwards.