I love the truth.  I’ll admit, sometimes, I love the truth more than I love people’s feelings — even my own.

“The truth will set you free”, said a wise man once.

Here’s where I’ll start, though;

I am one of the rare people, who will watch and, more often than not, enjoy watching otherwise dull and dreary government meetings.  For years, it’s been part of my job, of course, but (and I’m not kiddin) for a brief stretch – I would stay up late and at around 3 a.m. – 4 .a.m. – watch CSPAN.

Ok, it might have been BBC TV, because I watched British Parliament not the U.S. Congress.  If you’ve never seen British Parliament before, you must.  It’s a riot.

Anyway…

CSPAN, as well as many other state and local government broadcasts like it, often reveal just how not involved people have become – in government.  

On almost every occasion I’ve watched, there are as many or more journalists and photographers in the room than there are people in attendance or lawmakers listening.  And there are, perhaps “dozens” of people watching on various internet live streams.

Unfortunately, in a great many cases, this is also a vivid and deeply troubling reflection of how United States citizens can forget about things…even huge things.

On Tuesday, Comedian, Actor, and former “Daily Show” host John Stewart reminded all of us how we (many of us) have forgotten about a HUGE thing.

9/11 First Responders…

I’ve been wracked by Stewart’s testimony on Tuesday, because he’s right – we forgot about them.

It’s the saddest thing.

9/11 is a day I will, quite literally, never forget in my entire life.  A person cannot say that about very many days.  Also the next several months after 9/11…phew — man, it was rough.

And it’s not just the first responders, but all of the victims from that terrible day.  We forgot about all of them.

Do you know how I know?

Because they’ve had to fight through Congress for over a decade to get what almost everyone agrees – they deserve.  Peace of mind.

Now, you may immediately turn your finger toward Congress, but…if you do, you’re forgetting another important thing.  Who elects Congress???

Yeah.

Sucks now doesn’t it…

We forgot, as Stewart put it Tuesday, that in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, these courageous firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and every day heroes helped us all remember, “this country IS great and that it’s WORTH fighting for.”

They did that.  It’s a little of the same stuff those other folks did on D-Day back in ‘44…and they got the G.I. Bill without much difficulty.

I think Stewart may have given Americans a little dose of “truth medicine” on Tuesday.  

It may have been just the kind of medicine we need.