Mountains & Molehills

Success in life has a great deal to do with getting the right answers to the questions we face.  More important than having the right answer, however, is asking the right question.  As I look at the political landscape and listen to the public discourse, I am shocked how often we major in minor issues and totally ignore the critical matters before us all.  It seems that daily you can listen to our elected leaders and political commentators debating ad nauseam insignificant procedural points or semantics while being oblivious to the critical issues they were elected to confront.

 It puts me in mind of Nero fiddling while Rome was burning around him.  I realize that people on either side of the aisle or across the political spectrum may disagree upon which matters are most important or whether certain issues are really problems, but there are plenty of indisputable facts that confront us all that our leaders should at least be discussing. 

 As I dictate these words, the United States has a national debt that exceeds $22 trillion.  This is a number on which we can all agree as the statistics are beyond dispute, and I can’t imagine any person of influence, thought, or someone who holds an elected office not understanding that this is a crisis.  However, in the midst of month after month of political campaigning and debate, I haven’t heard anyone even discussing our national debt.  

 As serious as the debt truly is, the greater crisis may well be our ongoing annual deficit.  Not only are we in a huge financial hole, we are still digging.  I realize that 22 trillion dollars is hard to wrap your mind around, so let’s bring it a little closer to home.  Our national debt equates to $172,000 for every household in America.  Whether your family has consumer debt, car loans, and mortgages, or whether you and your family thought you were debt free—having paid off all of your obligations—you are $172,000 in debt, and it’s growing every day.  So the next time you hear our elected officials or commentators arguing about trivial matters, try to redirect the conversation so at least we can be seeking an answer to the right question. 

 As you go through your day today, always look for the right answers to the right questions.

 Today’s the day!