Sunday, November 23, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving…Are We…….Really? (A Reminder)

I stumbled across this yesterday on Halloween, and now it’s November and for me November means the beginning of the holiday season! It’s a time of anticipation, spending time with family and friends...and a time of reflection...and a time of gratitude. But as I pondered what I read, I realized that if we as a nation would just choose to give...if we would choose to help others, our perspective would be much different than it seems to be! We tend to be (as a nation) so wrapped up in self that we don’t take the time to give people the benefit of the doubt...or the benefit of anything else for that matter. But we can make a diffence...if we choose to. And it starts with you and me!

Check it out:

“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 Darfurhas
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
peoples 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?”