Harlingen, Texas, April 11, 2010:  The political greed and over indulgences of those who now sit in our nation’s seats of power have created an almost unrecoverable sickness across this land.  It will now require serious pain on the part of its citizenry, if we are to restore the health of America.  The unanswered question at this hour is...are we willing to accept the actions all of us know are the only way we can rebuilt the vitality of the nation? 

There are about thirty people in the rehabilitation unit at the hospital.  All of us have suffered what the nurses and other professionals call “a cardiac event”.  In my case, that event brought about multiple bypass surgery.  Why did it happen?  I did it to myself by too much over indulgence.  I ate too much fat, too much sugar, too much salt and too many foods high in cholesterol.  I forgot the life of physical fitness taught me by the Marine Corps and let my body become soft and weak.

I can never truly reverse the damage I have done to myself, but with hard work and sacrifice I can bring things back to a semblance of normalcy.  How will this happen?  The rehab unit has taught me to no longer consume sugars and fats.  The cholesterol numbers are checked on every food item.  The salt content of food is identified and high sodium foods are banished.

At each session those of us in recovery are given educational lessons on the correct way to handle everything from the stress in our lives to proper diet.  Most of all, every muscle in our bodies from the legs to the all-important heart is retrained, reconditioned and strengthened.

Doesn’t that personal recounting about the aftermath of a “cardiac event” sound to you like a metaphor for what needs to take place in America at this very minute?

America is positively in the middle of a major cardiac attack brought on by over indulgence.  The excess fat in every budget; the stinging salt of ever increasing taxation; the excessive sugars used to buy votes and favoritism for the political elite.  They have all combined to seriously damage the heart of America.  Added to that, the softness created in the body of the country by national dependency upon government has weakened us almost to the point of collapse.

The first thing that needs to happen is a major operation to remove all of those elements that have damaged our national heart.  We can do that by voting out of office everyone who has participated in creating this destructive condition.  Then, with fresh blood flowing throughout our national capitol, we can start a program designed to rehabilitate our country.

The unsupportable excessive nature of entitlement programs is at the very core of America’s cardiac problem. From Social Security to the newly created national health care legislation, all are impacting our financial security and must undergo either a major reduction or retooling to reduce the stress on our national treasury.  The sweet sugar of congressional earmarks used to buy votes in members’ states or districts must also be ended to assure national health can be improved.  From the poorly administered national security program, to failed border protection, from bailouts to partisan legislation…all must become footnotes on the pages of our history books.

To return America to a country that honors and abides by the words our founding fathers etched into the Constitution will require the dedication and fortitude of patriots everywhere, along with the reeducation of those who have spent their lives being cared for by nanny government.  We must also understand that any program of rehabilitation is painful and requires hard work and steadfastness on the part of all participants.

Most of us already understand America needs to spend an extended period in rehab.  They only question remaining is, do we have the backbone, the will to make sure our country is placed in a strong rehabilitation program…and completes it?

Semper Fidelis

Thomas D. Segel
http://thomasdsegel.com/