I just watched a heart wrenching program on HBO about the middle class unemployed families on Long Island. These were hard working people who played by all the rules and now in their middle years are facing financial ruin. The toll that this takes physically and mentally can be devastating. Many times that are ashamed to tell those in their familial and social circle what has happened. I hope that if their is anyone in my world who is in this boat I will have the sensitivity and awareness to reach out to them. We cannot as a nation allow the petty political posturing to continue to wreak havoc in the lives of our brothers and sisters. There are thousands of ways that we can right this economy and allow people to again participate in the American dream. This is not a story of listless people living on the dole, but rather great human beings stripped of the dignity of work that they spent much of their life preparing for and dedicated themselves to be productive citizens. We can not stand by and ignore the pain that is so close that we can touch it.