The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?
The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are
unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we
are so unhappy about?''
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day,
7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning
in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of
these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a
grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than
Darfur has seen in the last year?
Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the
Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we
move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car,emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a
group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch
equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your
belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen
TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a
bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack
or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or
militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we
enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what
has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the
world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a
great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most
blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and
has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent
approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?
The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there
defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?
Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he
was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have
volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom.
There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.
They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general''
discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario,
a''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.
So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69
percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations.
They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions
by"justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to
allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't
kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!
Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media.
Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country.
There is exponentially more good than bad.
We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank
God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides,
flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to
another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we
sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
>>>> Jay Leno
67% of Americans are not happy
Discussion in '2007 Archive' started by Shiloh, Apr 20, 2007.
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Bro. Curtis <img src =/curtis.gif>Site Supporter
Proud minority, right here. :thumbs:
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http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/jayleno.asp
Just to clarify---Jay Leno didn't write the essay. He's just being quoted at the end. -
I am one of those unsatisfied with the direction of this country.
It is not that we are whining ingrates. It's not that we are spoiled brats. It's simply that many of us believe that we can do better.
Are most people better off in America than in most other places? Of course.
The American mentality, however, is not simply to do a better job than some country in Africa. America strives to do the best job possible.
Am I grateful for the freedoms I enjoy? YES! Do I love a lot of things about America? Certainly!
But..
Do I believe in blind allegiance to the government? Do I confuse loyalty to a nation with loyalty to a person/party/administration? Do I believe that as long as we aren't as bad as Darfur that our leaders get a "free pass"? May it never be.
Sorry. I won't settle for mediocrity. -
The countries with the highest standard of living also have the highest suicide rate. Peter Kreeft says something to the effect that it is because people in poor countries believe that they can improve themselves but people in rich people think that their possibilities have run out.
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Hey, Stephanos I I don't believe you are tied here. If you don't like it here go someplace you do like. :wavey:
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Shilo:
To say that I am dissatisfied with the direction the country is headed is not the same thing as saying I hate America or am not thrilled to live in this nation. Like StefanM said, I do believe we can do better, but more than that I am worried that if we continue in the direction we are headed we will loose the blessings we have. You quoted a lot of great stuff from food to cell phones but what concerns me is not our state of luxury but our state of freedom. We enjoy economic success because we have economic freedom. And our individual freedoms are under attack and are slipping away. I am dissatisfied with our current president. Not because of his war strategy but because he is too much like the stinking democrats who would take away our freedom in the name of peace. -
What would have happened if the Founding Fathers had simply settled for a sub-par governmental structure (the Articles of Confederation) instead of striving for something better?
What if the many amendments had never come because of contentment with the status quo?
I am thoroughly unsatisfied with the government factions (Democratic and Republican) right now because I believe that they have let themselves place their own political agendas over the welfare of the nation.
America deserves better, and that is why I am unhappy.