Imagine a State of the Union address where the President stands in front of the cameras and tells us the truth about this country. Would we turn our television sets off rather than hear all the facts and figures which suggest that life in these United States isn’t as good as we want to believe it is?

Or would we watch the address more intently, looking for areas of the country’s health that we can improve?

Americans used to be known for their belief in the power of the individual, the “one vote can make a difference” approach to civic duty. Do we still believe? Or are we finished with fighting back, complacent in our insular communities where everyone agrees to accept the much-publicized illusion of prosperity?

America is a good place, but we are not perfect. We have social problems that affect every single one of us, whether we talk about them or not.

If we never talk about the growing number of homeless people living on the streets of our cities, then we won’t have to worry about them freezing to death when the wind chill factor prevents us from stepping outside of our heated homes.

But if we do talk about it, maybe we can discover the reasons for homelessness. What goes wrong? If we can understand that, perhaps we can help.

But if we continue to pretend the homeless don’t exist, the problem of destitute men, women, and children living on the streets will only increase. How can we look away from mental illness and hunger and poverty?

Maybe we think we can’t help others because we are in so much financial trouble ourselves. No one likes to talk about debt, but Americans are the kings and queens of debt.

Let’s not talk about why the credit card companies are sending pre-approved credit cards to everyone, not just those who are good credit risks.

They know that those of us who are already debt-ridden are sure to use the credit offered: good for business, bad for Americans.

Getting out of debt can seem fairly hopeless for good reason. If we make the minimum payment on those credit cards, we will never pay off the balance (because we are paying 90-cents on the dollar toward interest and a dime toward paying off that debt). Thanks to our spending, the American economy is doing great.

Access to people is easier than ever, but the distances between us seem to grow wider and wider. Political division, racial division, religious division; at the same time that voices cry out for an end to hate crimes in the name of Matthew Sheperd, other voices scream epithets in protest of gay marriages and carry signs reading, “God hates fags.”

This weekend, Reverend Don Fado in Sacramento, California, blessed a union between two people who love one another and crowds gathered (“from as far as Kansas,” according to CNN) to protest.

In a world so full of lonely hearts and so short on happy marriages, it seems misery loves company.

But we do escape. According to Reuters, Americans spent over $71 million this week at 10 movies.

This figure doesn’t include the rest of the movies that are showing in theaters across the country, nor the number of videos rented, nor the number of households that tuned in to cable movie channels.

Watching movies is one place where we can escape our lives for an hour or two. Others choose to drink or drug themselves into forgetfulness, to sleep both day and night, and to eat excessively, but it’s all escape.

Today the president will tell us that America is stronger than ever. The stock market is healthy and big business is happy.

The Republicans are even promising us a tax break over the next 10 years. And while they gleefully pursue a conviction in the Clinton trial, Hillary will do her best to hold her head up high and “stand by her man.”

We will watch Clinton’s speech in record numbers tonight. Everyone wants to see if he will reveal his true feelings about the upcoming trial. But he’ll be calm, more collected than ever and Americans will cheer the good news that our economy is on the upswing, the national debt is under control, Social Security is safe and more money will be coming back to us eventually.

Frankly, I’d rather hear the truth. He doesn’t need to sugar-coat the facts to make them more palatable. I’d rather know exactly where we stand: what’s wrong and what can I do about it?

I believe most Americans want to know the truth and most of us want to do the right thing, if we only knew how.

No one likes knowing that there are people who need help, but we don’t mind helping. None of us likes being in debt, but we don’t know how to get out.

So instead of telling us everything is great, I hope President Clinton tells us the truth for a change. Remember those famous words, “The truth shall set you free.”

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Kata Alvidrez is a graduate student in English from Los Angeles.