If we really want to pull our nation out of this economic abyss, perhaps it’s time to stop babying, coddling and wet-nursing the unemployed. 

Welcome to Harsh Reality 101!  Your instructor today is Bryan Anderson, author of No Turning Back.

Bryan joined the Army in 2001, just before 9/11.  He then served two tours of duty in Iraq.  On October 23, 2005, the Humvee he was driving was blown up by an IED.  In the attack, Bryan lost both legs above the knee, as well as his left arm.  So when he writes critically about unemployed homeless veterans on the street – perhaps the most sympathetic of figures in all of American society - he’s speaking from a decidedly strong position of moral authority.

“I know this might sound harsh, Anderson writes, “but when I see a veteran wearing filthy rags, sitting on a sidewalk, and begging for change because he’s obviously a drunk or an addict, even if he’s an amputee, I think his situation is his own fault.”

“When I see people wearing the tattered remains of their uniforms while sitting in their own filth, asking for pity, it makes me angry,” the skateboarding/snowboarding triple-amputee continues.  “I can’t respect someone who would rather scrape through each day looking for a drink or a fix to dull their pain than muster the discipline to fight through it and take back their own life.”

Anderson’s harsh reality advice to these unemployed homeless vets: “Stop doing what doesn’t work and try something new.  Visit a homeless shelter and get a shower.  Go to the Salvation Army and get some clean clothes.  Sign up with a temp agency and go on job interviews until someone hires you.”

“If you’re in a bad situation, you need to pick yourself up and do something about it,” Anderson urges.  “Don’t wait for solutions to come to you.” 

Amen. 

Now if that kind of “tough love” from a triple amputee is good enough for disabled homeless veterans, why isn’t it good enough for all those “unfortunate” Americans currently working towards their 99^th week of unemployment? 

“I have a news flash for you,” continues Anderson, “the world doesn’t owe you a living.”  He adds that “a person who has been coddled becomes dependent.  All he or she has been taught to do is take, consume and demand more.  How can people spoiled that way ever learn to give, sacrifice and think more about others than about themselves?”

Hallelujah.

And I double-dog dare any able-bodied, red-blooded American who has been on unemployment more than 13 weeks to tell this triple-amputee military veteran that he just doesn’t understand how tough YOU have it; that your circumstances are different - and it’s somebody else’s responsibility to fix it. 

Double…dog…dare…you.

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Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, founder of CampaignDoctor.com and blogs at MuthsTruths.com.  He can be reached at chuck@citizenoutreach.com