Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

The news is all around us, both subtle and blatant. Our country is in a crisis; no, in fact, our country is in several crises. I know, because I read and hear about them everywhere.

There’s the war on terror crisis, the economic crisis, the educational crisis, the Medicare crisis, the moral values crisis, the oil crisis, the national debt crisis, and quite possibly an overpopulation of dogs crisis.

It doesn’t matter whether you stand on the right side of the population continuum or the left, whether you voted for the incumbent or his challenger. All parties have resorted to it. And “it” is the rhetoric of crisis. In other words, to state one’s case these days requires drama and hyperbole for effect and persuasion. It doesn’t seem to require any documentation of reality.

So we have one side screaming that we must fix the economy now, that we can’t leave any child behind, and that Medicare is about to run out of backing. We have the other side yelling that the current administration is responsible for the economic mess, that there isn’t enough funding for every child in America to come along, and that Medicare won’t run out of money for years to come.

I can’t say who is right; but I can say that both sides have elevated their rhetoric, not only the volume but also the tone. It’s too bad, because reality has gotten lost in the shuffle. And maybe that’s the real crisis at hand.