Reality 101

One of the things I've always liked about working from home is that I get to listen to the radio all day. Not music, I'm addicted to my local NPR station. I love it. As poor as I am these days, I am a committed supporter, giving them a small, but ongoing monthly donation. It's only fair since I listen ALL THE TIME. Lately though, I've had to turn the station off on occasion when the economic doom and gloom stories get too overwhelming. When I need to rev up in preparation for what I call my "rant stories" though, back on goes the station. And it only takes a matter of minutes to hear something that'll get my righteous anger juices flowing. Hell, I don't even need caffeine. The ban on stem cell research, our folly in Iraq, overpaid executives who are still getting their bonuses even as they drive their businesses into the ground. Oh yes, and it's even better when their bonuses and company retreats and trips in their corporate jets are paid for with my tax dollars, and yours too of course. I love the sense of entitlement exhibited by these pillars of society.

Today the host of one of the shows that I am particularly fond of had people calling in to talk about their fears about our current economic melt-down. One person after another talked about how unfair things were, how they couldn't believe that these things were happening, how they were afraid of losing everything, wondering how they would pay for their kid's education, their own retirement, cover the exorbitant monthly payment for their health insurance. Now, normally, I think I'm a pretty sympathetic person, but this morning, as these people went on and on and on, my only thought was – welcome to the club.

We're a nation of individualists, masters of our own destiny, believers that entitlement programs are bad and go against the grain of what this country stands for, and while our tax dollars go to pay for health care (really good health care I might add) for our elected officials, we seem not to have any issue with the fact that these are the same folks who say to me, and to you, thanks so much for paying for my health care, and by the way, regarding your own health care, you're on your own, and good luck with that.

So, I must make a confession. While I'm sorry that so many folks are having trouble sleeping with wondering about what these scary times will mean for them, I have to say I think it's about time that we all got a little taste of reality. Because the truth is, none of us are safe from bad things happening, and security is an illusion. Yes, I have an illness, and a scary one at that, but the reality is that tomorrow any of us could slip in our bathtub, or get hit by a bus on our way to work, or have a plane fly into a building in our city, or get fired, or… I'll stop now, because I'm sure you get the idea. And I want to say to these people, life isn't just what you make of it, and you may think that you have control over circumstances, but for the most part you most assuredly do not. The only thing that you can have 100 percent complete control over is how you handle the cards that you are dealt.

And for those of you who get all excited about individual responsibility, and smaller government, and just how wonderful the free market is, I have one other little saying for you – you are your brother's keeper.

When President Obama unveils his plan for a universal health care program, keep in mind one other thing, the last time our country was this bad off, we had a president who created the biggest entitlement program ever, and nobody today questions that decision at all. In fact, talk by our last president of eviscerating this program caused such outrage that he was, fortunately stopped in his tracks. That program is called Social Security.