and on that uplifting note...

My hubby was unable to find the reference for me but according to him, a newspaper article made a big deal over Mitt Romney using the word "sacrifice". Not because of what he thought needed to be sacrificed,  but because he wanted people to sacrifice. Now this got the little clock work devises in my head turning away. What are you willing to sacrifice?

Our country is in a rough, precarious spot at the moment, right? The national debt is over 15 trillion as of this month and for whatever crazy reason, it keeps getting worse! I am beginning to think that WE think it will just magically go away. Like there is a wand or a perfect presidential canidate that we can all hold on to hope for. This magical fairy president will wave his/her sparkling wand and the budget will be balanced again! Now of course I am being ridiculous, but if you have been sitting around realizing that things are going to have to change in YOUR life to get this nation out of this giant pile of dog poo, your neighbor hasn't. So share this with him and her.

Which brings me to my main question of the evening, what are YOU willing to sacrifice to shave some pennies off a number so large I can not fathom? Now wait! Stop right there!!! I know what you are doing, you brain went right to those "unnecessary" federal programs you've never had use of. But I didn't ask you what you think your neighbor should sacrifice, I asked you what YOU are willing to give up.

Are you willing too pay more for most of your processed foods so government subsidies to farmers can be cut off? Are you willing to allow your child to go uninsured so the Utah CHIP program funds can be used to pay back China? Are you willing to have your ailing father-in-law move in with you (even though your spouse's sister has a larger home and fewer kids) because there simply is not enough Medicare money to cover the cost of caring for our dear seniors? Are you willing to have a cure for cancer 10 further years away? Are you willing to sacrifice your or your child's opportunity for a public education because there is no longer a chance for student loans? And the list goes on.

"No!" right? Even as I write this I am mentally screaming it! Katie not go to college? My accident prone boy not have health coverage? "NO!" I shout. "Cut something else! We can't possibly live without those things!" But that's just it. At the point of negative 15 trillion, good things have to go. And we have to expect that every individual will be expected to sacrifice something.

I expect it to be unpleasant. I expect my heart to fight the inevitable. But what's the alternative? Pass a much larger problem onto my children and grand children? Come on now, ignoring this type of problem does not make it disappear. As Americans, we have to face up to this hard reality at some point. It is like dieting, there is no magic pill. You will cry about it and fight against it but when it comes down to it, you will have to bypass the cake and hit the treadmill if you want to lose that belly. No magic wand available. 

You are not alone. I am sad about it too. But I figure that history shows us the capacity of people to sacrifice, struggle, survive, and overcome. It is an unpleasant reality, but possible.