If it was easy, we'd have done it already

I’m constantly confronted with people who have assumed that because politicians have told them things are simple, that they are.  But that’s just not the case.

Hard things are, well, hard.  And if fixing the difficult problems were easy, we’d have done it already.  So when I see articles proclaiming that there are simple solutions to longstanding issues, I quickly turn the page.  Sometimes, it feels like too many discussions of obesity take on this flavor.

It’s easy, people say.  Eat less. Exercise more.  Eat no carbs.  Avoid the high glycemic index.  Watch less TV.  Go outside.  Take this drug.  Get that surgery.

If it was easy, we’d have done it already.

And then along comes an article that seems to really get it.  It’s by Marc Ambinder.  You really should go read it.  It almost makes me want to re-subscribe to The Atlantic.

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