*Made in the USA : Spoiled brats*
> >>
> >> 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'rds of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.
> >> 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. Then there are the actors, singers,
> >> comedians, and politicians who visit foreign countries and bad mouth
>the
> >> U.S.A. and our President. 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 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 almost were
>going
> >> to allow O.J. Simpson to write a book and do a TV special about how he
> >> didn't kill his wife but if he did.... . insane! And, they did it
>during
> >> the Vietnam Conflict. I was there dealing with them as the public
>affairs
> >> representative for a major command. News representatives and reporters
> >> for the major TV networks would come to us to cover our soldiers.
> >>
> >> To give you an example, they wanted to show how our soldiers lived and
> >> apparently covered that story. Two weeks later we received the news
>reels
> >> from the U.S. and we could see what they had actually shown on TV. They
> >> would find soldiers who played basket ball or were in an on-post club
>or
> >> were lounging in their barracks with a beer, or were at the PX shopping
> >> during duty hours. Their explanation was the troops had nothing to do
>and
> >> were not really needed there and nobody knew what they were doing. What
> >> they didn't tell the TV audience and readers was that these soldiers
> >> worked shifts, had worked during the night and enjoyed their free time.
> >> This is just one of many examples how matters were misrepresented. I
> >> remember that many of us told our loved ones not to believe anything
>they
> >> hear or see in the media. I have heard comments like that from soldiers
> >> now serving in Iraq .
> >>
> >> Stop buying the negative venom you are fed every day by the media. Shut
> >> off the TV, burn Newsweek and Time Magazine, 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 that this New Year 2007, 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.
> >>
> >> Author Unknown
