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View Full Version : Maybe the bitterness should cease a little bit...




tggroo7
10-13-2008, 02:15 PM
This is a nice refreshing piece that I didn't write. Some guy I don't know wrote this and it actually became a chain letter saying Letterman or Leno wrote it, but that doesn't matter. Anyway, it should make you think a little differently about the problems most of us complain about (unless you are a truther, then I guess your complaints are understandable...although BEING a truther is a whole different issue that we shall not discuss).


'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 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?'

A.
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?

B.
Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

C.
Could it be that 94 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D.
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?

E.
Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state.

F.
Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G.
I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.


H.
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.


I.
Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J.
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.


K.
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.


L.
This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.


M.
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% 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.

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!

Turn 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?'

Now there are little bits and pieces that most of us will not completely agree on but that's irrelevant so please don't start tearing this thing apart over the tiniest issues. See it for what it is...a refreshing, thought-provoking read that SHOULD make you a little less bitter and a lot more grateful for what we have. Yes our country is heading in a bad direction, but even when it gets bad, we will still live decently and way better than most of the world.

JohnJay
10-13-2008, 02:48 PM
Complacency is dangerous during an election in a country at war.

" If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." - James Madison


And don't you dare watch kids selling lemonade . . . you could be arrested for that.

micahnelson
10-13-2008, 03:00 PM
US Prisons provide a higher standard of living than some third world countries. Should someone falsely accused of a crime count his blessings too?

For the purposes of inner peace, we must be content with what we have. For the purposes of preserving the Republic, the Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance.

tggroo7
10-13-2008, 03:29 PM
US Prisons provide a higher standard of living than some third world countries. Should someone falsely accused of a crime count his blessings too?


Damnit man, how hard is it to just be a little grateful. Did I say "maybe we should stop trying to make this a better country"??? No, I didn't think so. I'm just saying you should probably bitch a little less about the state of the country because even if it gets as bad as the worst predictions say, many of us will still be among the most fortunate people in the world. Bitching does not equal reform anyway so don't say anything like "we can't lay off now" because, again, I am not at all saying to stop pushing for changes.

tggroo7
10-13-2008, 03:32 PM
Only in this forum would a post meant to be uplifting, be criticized and turned into a bad thing. Man, I'm glad I don't actually know some of you people personally.

Paulitical Correctness
10-13-2008, 03:38 PM
Man, I'm glad I don't actually know some of you people personally.

If the SHTF, you'll wish you personally knew people like us. The pessimists and realists are going to be the most rugged of patriots during harsh times. :eek:

micahnelson
10-13-2008, 03:40 PM
Only in this forum would a post meant to be uplifting, be criticized and turned into a bad thing. Man, I'm glad I don't actually know some of you people personally.

Im sorry, when friends of mine are getting foreclosed on due to lost jobs its hard for me to be all Mary Poppins about it.

I have no problem with you playing your tune, i just can't dance to it right now- and thats not because im a pampered whiner as that article would say.

Grimnir Wotansvolk
10-13-2008, 03:45 PM
Oh for fuck's sake, I'm getting so tired of the "what are you whining about, Americans have it sooo good" garbage. This is just another guilt barrier to keep real problems from being discussed.

Yes, we do have some nice things. The problem is, the actions of our empire are leading us quickly down a path where buying groceries, accessing energy, and making a steady living are just phantoms of the past. As someone else stated, we're about 1.5 meals away from the end of civilization. "Americans have it good" is a dangerously thin veneer.

And that's not even mentioning that much of these nice things we have are simply leeched off of other, suffering nations. And to top it off, even if we were truly well off, most of the materials mentioned in articles like these are completely unsustainable, and it would all have to come to a head sooner or later, as the garbage is quickly piling up. Because our government chooses the path of subsidization/prohibition, we're forced to put up with a market churning out goods that have the quality of McDonald's food.

Razorback Fan
10-13-2008, 03:53 PM
Given the choice of being a slave with electricty and running water, or a free man with neither, I'd choose the latter.

TruckinMike
10-13-2008, 04:08 PM
For the purposes of preserving the Republic, the Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance.

Yes.

And

Why are WE so unhappy --- because they are trying their hardest to take away Freedom in general.

TMike

RonPaulVolunteer
10-13-2008, 04:17 PM
BEING a truther is a whole different issue that we shall not discuss).

Well, when you are free, we'd be more than happy to discuss it, but until then, it's ok, we understand.


You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it. - Morpheus.

josephadel_3
10-13-2008, 04:22 PM
Yes, always be grateful for what you have in comparison to others starving and dying from disease as I type this. The reason we are bitter is we are scared to death of the upcoming collapse, which makes it hard to be grateful. Because once the dollar collapses (and it WILL collapse) we will no longer be able to be generous to those starving children in Africa because we'll be the hungry ones. You have to save yourself before you can save others. But yes, I am very grateful I am not starving or suffering at the moment. I am clothed, not hungry, and clean. I am happy, but disgruntled about the future.

dannno
10-13-2008, 04:55 PM
The reason our country used to be so great was because people worked hard and made things.

Now our country is great because our currency became the reserve currency of the world. Our imports and everything we bought came at a discount at the expense of global slaves in various third world countries. The rich people in those countries bought all of our debt, and now China owns more land in the US than anybody. All of that currency is about to come crashing down on top of us causing hyperinflation, and you're happy for all the cheap electronics and stuff we got in trade for our sovereignty?

I'm not grateful for the slavery we sponsored, either.

Anti Federalist
10-13-2008, 05:01 PM
Most everything listed by the OP are the bars of the gilded cage we find ourselves in.

All of those nice fineries, we are finding out, are ephemeral, fleeting and do not satisfy the soul in the way that freedom, independence and self reliance do.

Tell you what, I'll trade my cel phone for no REAL ID.

If I had one, I'd trade my plasma TV for no PATRIOT Act.

If I had one, I'd trade my new SUV for no Iraqi war.

If I had one, I'd trade my box seat sports team tickets for no "free speech zones".

If I had one, I'd trade my 401(k) for a restoration of the second amendment.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. And lest you think I have nothing to trade, since I say "If I had one", think again. I make six figures, and could have all those things listed and more. I choose, and my family chooses, not to.

ClockwiseSpark
10-13-2008, 05:02 PM
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