You are not alone and you are correct. Politicians take these abstract deficit numbers and use words like "unsustainable", and "our grandchildren are straddled with debt" to try to make them meaningful when they are not. What is the difference between 1.7 trillion , 20 trillion, or 5 trillion and what does it mean to joe schmo today? Read Mosler for more.
Maybe I am alone on this, but I've never had to send a check to the US government to pay for my share of the government debt. Have you?