UNHAPPY AMERICANS ?

"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 Americ ans 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, s poiled 
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 t o 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 peoples on Earth and should 
thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and 
appreciative."

   "With hurricanes, torn ados, 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?"



BLO copied it 20070516 - stories