Dear Jon,
America is like a rock star. It was born out of rebellion. It was hungry to prove itself and took on the world with its enthusiasm. 
It wanted to be number one without selling out its values.
After years of paying its dues, America made it to number one. America swore it would not forget where it came from. It got an entourage and even made some movies.
After being at the top for a while, like all rock stars, America got arrogant, cocky even. It got lazy with its success and over indulged in its fruits. America lost its conviction and drive to be the best. It still performs, but it is not as good as it used to be. Now, it seems like it is just going through the motions and living full-bellied off its preceding accomplishments. Like all aged rock stars, America is fat, out of shape, and has a prescription drug habit. It sold out years ago, yet now people are finally noticing.
America needs to go to rehab. Unlike Brittany, it needs to admit it has a problem. It needs to pull its head out of its own ass and get help. It needs to rediscover the sound and the values that made it great, and then put out a double album. Unlike most rehabbed rock stars, America doesn’t need to go out on tour. Part of America’s rehab is to come home from the road and rest. And, yep, you guessed it, America naturally defaults to our pop-culture instincts of self-recovery and zones-out to the tube… and that’s where your part is played, Jon.
The truth remains: America trusts you as a refreshing news source. You are the most honest and impartial anchor we have, God help us. And you are funny, you give us our daily dose of medicine with a spoonful of sugar and a heavy-handed shot of grandma’s whiskey. But there is nothing funny about America’s current predicament. Our health care and economy are going down the toilet to join our reputation for the past 8 years of blindly Rockin’ in the Free World. We are hooked on foreign oil and processed, cream-puffed ideas like middle-aged white women on The Bachelor. Our environment is polluted and our food supply resembles food in name only, both of which are forcing an evolutionary experiment on us all. Our health care system and economy are collapsing from the weight of an obese nation.
The current structure for health care is failing and any attempt to create a universal health care plan will not come close to saving it if these two underlying issues are not addressed; first, our poor health choices and, second, the rather obvious to everyone… money. No other country in the world makes money off sick people, and I would venture to say that we are a nation of self-neglected and misinformed, looking for easy answers; thinking that throwing more money at it will make it all better.
If the government simply focuses on funding “for profit” insurance companies where creating health is not in their perceived best interest, then this short-sighted subsidy is not going to change our nation’s faltering health.
Barrack Obama alone cannot save us. We must save ourselves. Unlike the lessons taught to the Auto and Banking industries, it is time Americans take responsibility for their personal choices. The choice of an unhealthy diet, lifestyle, and environment cannot be bailed out with pharmaceutical medications and surgery or universal health care. Our bad habits have unnecessarily cost us hundreds of billions of dollars annually in direct sick care expenses for preventable chronic diseases. The solution is to take preventative actions before the problem develops.
Slowly, people are shifting back to the philosophy of natural medicine. This makes sense because natural medicine is based upon prevention of disease, contains sustainable practices that benefit the health of individuals and the environment, and best of all it’s a helluva lot more affordable than a 2-day visit in the hospital. Taking poison pills for eating poison, drinking poison, and breathing poison will not make poison related diseases go away.
You may be wondering, “Why me? Why have I been chosen?” The answer is simple. Steven Colbert is too busy working on a top rated show, and you have the hutzpah to grab any beast by its horns. Like you, I love this country. I realize that it is a waste of time to throw words upon deaf ears…. which brings me to my last point, America listens to you. It is clear you love America and want what is best for it. And you happen to have a soap box that can reach the nation.
Here’s the beef: I ask that you include natural approaches to medicine in your sardonic commentary regime. Easy dosing really, slip it into our nation’s sub-consciousness so that we can leave this derailed health care monstrosity behind us. Let the people know they have an option in their approach to their health and they can benefit their life, the environment, the economy, and ultimately Barrack Obama’s legacy with their choices.
I think America was great and can be great again, but it will take work. This means acknowledgment of our failures so that we can correct them, and in the meantime, you can use our failures as fodder for higher ratings. It’s a win-win really.
Not that you can’t research it on your own, but if you want a primary source for naturopathic medicine you may email me, Lou Walters. I am currently swamped with my final year at the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM) in Portland, Oregon; otherwise, I would have written a book and come on your show myself.
Thanks for stickin’ it to the Man,
Lou