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Reflections
The following submission was received
from Don Higgerson. We presume he
has the permission of the author.
November
20, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Craig
R. Smith C 2006
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 same magazine that employs Michael (Qurans in
the toilets at Gitmo) Isikoff. And,
here I promised myself this week I would be nice
And I start off in this way.......
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 starting
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 involved.
Whether you are rich or poor they treat your wounds and even, if necessary,
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 having 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.
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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 brats safe
from terrorist attacks?
The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army
that is out there defending you and me?
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to
serve, and in many cases 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. Just ask why they are going to allow a murderer like O.J.
Simpson to write a book and do a TV special about how he didn't kill his
wife but if he did he's insane!
Stop buying the negative venom 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.
I close with one of my favorite quotes from B.C.
Forbes in 1953:
''What have Americans to be thankful for? More
than any other people on the earth, we enjoy complete religious freedom,
political freedom, social freedom. Our liberties are sacredly safeguarded
by the Constitution of the United
States, 'the most wonderful work ever
struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.'
Yes, we Americans of today have been bequeathed a
noble heritage. Let us pray that we may hand it down unsullied to our
children and theirs.''
I suggest we sit back and count our blessings for
all we have.
If we don't, what we have will be taken away. Then
we will have to explain to future generations why we squandered such
blessing and abundance.
If we are not careful this generation will be
known as the ''greediest and most ungrateful generation.'' A far cry from
the proud Americans of the ''greatest generation'' who left us an
untarnished legacy.
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