Some food for thought.

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

I post this here as many more may read then if posted it under Politics.

I'm not wishing to make bubbles and I don't intend it to be political, simply wish for folks to wake up and be more happy with our lot.

I did not write this and I'm sure many have seen this before, but please read it again.

No matter what your convictions are, this may be an eye opener....What a thankless people we have become!!!

This is about us, as Americans.
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A while ago 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 aren't happy and want a change.

What are we so unhappy about?

A. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24/7?

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

C. Could it be that 95 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 from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without showing identification papers.

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 and/or 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 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 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 US . , 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 shows? 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 (and elsewhere) 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?'

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Maybe it's because we are not doing as well as we did at the end of the last century. Gas is now twice as expensive tho down from recently being four times as expensive. We are fighting in 2 foreign wars, one of which was started by us based on the lies of our leaders. The dollar has lost value, the stock market has crashed, house prices have plumeted and the cost of living has skyrocketed. We just had to fork out over 700 billion to prop up our banking system as credit had virtually dried up. Some people that used to own a home are now sleeping in cars.

My question is, what rock have you been living under ? We can do better and in a few days we may vote to change things for the better.

[Barbeque Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Barbeque]

I agree with the blame to the media, but also congress rates
lower than the executive branch. We are at a very critical moment in history for our country but I think the American people are resilient and the constitution should protect us.
GO USA
When the time comes to vote remember change may be good but be careful of what you wish for.

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

I post this here as many more may read then if posted it under Politics.

I'm not wishing to make bubbles and I don't intend it to be political, simply wish for folks to wake up and be more happy with our lot.

I did not write this and I'm sure many have seen this before, but please read it again

No matter what your convictions are, this may be an eye opener....What a thankless people we have become!!!

This is about us, as Americans.

.. 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

I am afraid that the premise is false. You seem to be stating that unhappy citizenry are somehow not entitled to have a feeling, a deep feeling of dis-satisfaction with what their country has become.

I might remind you that this nation was founded because citizens were dissatisfied....they didn't want tyranny, they didn't want to feel threatened, impoversihed, enslaved to a crown,.....in fact, they had the audacity to want to found a nation based upon IDEALS, not fear, not contempt....they wanted to try an experiment that allowed basic tenets of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to be supported, and yes, even flourish. It was stated that "we hold these truths to be self evident"....
If after 8 years, our nation has lost its way, and it has leaders who have gutted our constitution and used fear and loathing as the weaponry of choice...
...If after 8 years of being led into a mindset of divisiveness and class demarcations that say the HAVES know better and the rest deserve to be HAVE NOTS....
....If we are to be criticized for feeling unhappy about this.... I say shame on those who would dare to try to make us feel less than: how dare "they" designate any one of us as less than citizens, or less entitled to freedoms, or as unpatriotic.

No nation deserves to be called great that relies so heavily on fear as its major weapon against its own citizens.

Thomas Jefferson:
No government can be maintained without the principle of fear as
well as duty. Good men will obey the last, but bad ones the
former only. If our government ever fails, it will be from this
weakness."

In eight years, FEAR has been peddled from politicians to pharmaceutical ads....
...we as a nation have every right, and duty to stand and be counted. And if that means that our polls (which by the way are slanted to get the results they want in the first place) give us a statistic which declares that UNHAPPINESS prevails....then so be it.

I reserve the right to be proud to be a citizen and to be a citizen who is extremely dissatisfied with the DEvolution of our nation in these 8 years.....I am proud that we are a nation of volunteers....armies, navies, and non-military who stand and serve in whatever capacity that they feel best contributes to this nation's good. Just because we have volunteers in EVERY capacity in this nation, does not make those (for whatever their personal reasons) who do not volunteer to be ungrateful or spoiled.

Jefferson: The people of every country are the only safe guardians of their own rights, and are the only instruments which can be used for
their destruction. And certainly they would never consent to be so
used were they not deceived.


It is also a distortion of our nation's birth to use religious views as the argument for what our country is or isn't.

Jefferson again:
Our civil rights have no dependence upon our religious opinions
more than our opinions in physics or geometry."

I am grateful for many things...I shall not bore you with the list, but because I have running water or a roof over my head does not mean that I should be grateful nor HAPPY for the despicable leadership, the despicable behaviors of so many who prefer greed and corruption for their own personal profit and power....

With a nation as historically courageous as we have been and as potentially great as we can be....it is shameful that we have been fooled and blinded and cowed into the nation we are today.


However, one poll doesn't shed any insight on our PEOPLE....and "WE the People of these UNITED STATES" shall bring this nation back to its ethical and historical roots....it just may not be in our lifetimes.

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

I post this here as many more may read then if posted it under Politics.

I'm not wishing to make bubbles and I don't intend it to be political, simply wish for folks to wake up and be more happy with our lot.

Robert, no offense meant, but, you may not think this is political, because you believe what is said there is right and that others should think the same way, but it is very political and should have been posted in the political forum.
However since it was posted here here is a post from a former president that says pretty much the opposite about citizens rights and obligations regarding criticizing their government:

“The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole.

“Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.“

- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (in office 1901-1909)

So you see, many of us think that George Bush is a terrible president and that he steps all over the Constitution and the rights of the people he is supposed to be representing. Opinions are like back-sides, we've all got them and they are not all the same. You don't have to agree with what someone else thinks, but, to tell them they shouldn't be voicing their opinion, as the writer of what you posted says is really the unpatriotic act!!!

[janapur Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close janapur]

Anything I could add would pale in comparison to the above replies, so I will just say thank you for this insightful thread.

I am so tired of being made to feel that my disappointment in our leaders is unpatriotic. We the people are better than this and deserve to be represented as such.

[mav Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mav]

I will NOT comment politically at all for either party, or on either side for the conditions with gas prices, etc.etc.etc...... What I will say is I just returned last weekend from a 6 week trip to Italy, home of my ancestors, and was NEVER so happy to be back to the U.S.A. and so thankful I was born here. The pasta was incredible and the sights were fantastic, but that was it. I was singing Arrivederci Italia all the way across the pond and kicked my heels when the plane landed in the U.S.A. It was the little things I missed , my comforts, like having a NORMAL toilet while sightseeing . The toilets in the ladies room in the hill towns were squat over a hole in the floor. And I would be running around trying to find an open restaurant or bar to use their toilet. Heat and air conditioning on demand, and hot water. I was alternately scalded and frozen in showers 1/2 the size of a phone booth with no where to run because the shower was so small. And when I would try to bend over and wash my feet I would be VERY CAREFUL because guess where the faucets end up if you were not ! Getting out of the shower DIRECTLY in front of the toilet and wall, and trying not to fall in the toilet or the end of my only towel for 4 days to fall in the toilet while trying to get out of the shower. Mold on the walls of the tiny shower and trying to show the people at the front desk and they look at you like you are crazy. The front desk taking all the towels out of our unit when we checked in and there were only 2 of us and not 4 or 6 like the unit sizes we were confirmed into. They would grab our towels out and leave us each 1 hand towel and 1 bath towel apiece. And this was in RCI silver and gold crown resorts. The only good place I had in 6 weeks was the Domus Romana thru Royal Holiday Club and that was GREAT! Also the only really clean unit I had during the whole trip. And the cost to do your wash at a laundramat in Italy is exhorbitant! I am sure the they are all owned by the Mafia.
I have so many stories to tell about my trip to the "old country" I could go on for days. But boy are they entertaining for the neighbors and family members. In Venice I was a week in a unit that had iron bars on all of the windows so you could not open the shutters to get any daylight. It was like being in a bunker. It was my last week in the "old country" and I just kept telling myself only 1 more week and you will be home... and you are in VENICE! ENJOY!
AND LADIES, always carry toilet paper and hand sanitizer in Italy. Believe me, you will be happy you did!
Arrivederci Italia !! I am happy I went and happier still to be home! And Nonnie thank you for getting on the "boat"

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

... “The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole.

“Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.“

- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (in office 1901-1909)

So you see, many of us think that George Bush is a terrible president and that he steps all over the Constitution and the rights of the people he is supposed to be representing. Opinions are like back-sides, we've all got them and they are not all the same. You don't have to agree with what someone else thinks, but, to tell them they shouldn't be voicing their opinion, as the writer of what you posted says is really the unpatriotic act!!!

Well said, Ken.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

Katie and Ken - Exactly right!!

Thanks for putting it so eloquently.

Sue

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

No offense taken and no offense intended.

Personally, I am grateful for what we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and I thank God often.

I stated that I did not write it… I just was hoping folk would read and consider that posted. I wasn’t taking sides… only giving others the print to read. As I stated, ”Food for thought”. I thought the piece worthy of sharing, hoping that others might find encouragement and be grateful for what we have as a country.

It is terrible when people have lost out or have not. Citizens have every right to be dissatisfied with the state of affairs. Hopefully those responsible will be held accounted.

I don’t necessarily believe what was posted as right or wrong, or that others should think any certain way.

Everyone has a right to their way of thinking.
It was posted as food for thought.



Robert

[abc31 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close abc31]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I enjoyed reading your post. I didn't really see it as political. I have always loved my country, but lately I have been feeling unhappy about the way things are. Since my husband is a mortgage broker, the "mortgage crisis" hit us more directly. I've been feeling bitter about the lifestyle changes we have had to make.

Your post reminded me of how lucky I am. We will have to do without a lot of things that we are used to, but we are still so lucky compared to people in other parts of the world. We take things like clean, running water for granted. Thanks for an uplifting piece of food for thought!