Ernest Becker on the Deficit

...we think the budget mess is a squabble between partisans in Washington. But in large measure it’s about our inability to face death and our willingness as a nation to spend whatever it takes to push it just slightly over the horizon.

That's David Brooks, not actually Becker, in today's NY Times. If you're unfamiliar with the reference, Becker's Denial of Death is a minor classic, known for its very brunt yet sober claim that death plays a large role in our lives that most people are not ready to acknowledge. Though David Brooks doesn't always get the political dynamics of Washington correct, he does deserve credit for eschewing the rhetoric of the political leadership, with all it's hand-waving, wonk-speak, and intentionally inoffensive superficiality, and trying his best to address the heart of our political problems, even when doing so is probably uncomfortable and unpalatable for popular audiences. I do think there's truth to what he says, but I also think it would be comforting to put this out of mind and go back to speaking about the debt like it's just a matter of hard math.