I am America(n)

Taking liberties, Mr. Stephen Colbert, but givin' you credit. Thank you.

Lately, I've been hearing about myself on the news just about every night. It all started when they covered my layoff in August. Around the same time, they headlined the story of my foreclosed home (make that three foreclosed homes), and everyone is now very up to date on why our real estate business has taken such a devastating blow in the past 13 months - our tenant's credit dried up, as did their jobs on Main Street. Missed payments, no cash outs, empty houses, no cash flow, and staff layoffs of our own equaled a perfect storm. Nothing is sacred with these intrepid reporters, and our dirty laundry has been exposed - our substantial credit card debt has made national headlines, as has our weakness for having bought a house that was probably more than we could afford.

Now every single newscaster is broadcasting the terrible state of my 401k. And they're even telling me (some even yelling at me) to tighten up my belt, get my finances back in order, live within my means, and start saving. They're letting me know that the next president really cares about me and wants to make sure that my preexisting condition is covered, that I can continue to get loans for my son's college education, and that should we continue along the path of small business, we'll be encouraged to do so - because that's about as American as it gets.

I see no evidence that my phone has been tapped or that I'm being followed, so I have absolutely no idea how they found out so much private, personal information about me. But in the end, the one story about me they haven't yet shared with the nation is that, in spite of all these challenges, I still have it better than about 98% of the people on this earth, and that I know I will get beyond it all by just prodding ahead and doing my best.

And so can you.