Find the cure--ignore the symptoms

We have become a society steeped in the habit of identifying the symptoms of a problem and then committing our personal and fiscal resources to managing those symptoms. Only rarely do we take the time to recognize and then eliminate the origin of those problems. We often see this in the medical industry, where managing symptoms takes immediacy over seeking a problem's cure, while hoping that the original malady will not get worse and our natural healing process will fix the problem. We also see the process in how we as a society approach everyday challenges, in our lifestyles and workplaces. While our primary goal should always be to identify and fix the sources of our problems, the reality is that some problems are beyond the scope of current capabilities, and providing comfort may be a best second choice.