No, I didn't think up this one, but it does ask us Americans to look beyond our own preferences for once.
Dear Friends: This thought-provoking comment just came in regarding
> some current polls and sets out some realistic comments, as follows:
>
> "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 Isikoff, who
> reported on the Qurans in the toilets at Gitmo.
>
> 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
> two-thirds 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 good 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. 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.
> . . instead of being shot by a vicious dictator.
>
> 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. 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.
>
> 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 of all time. A far cry from the proud
> Americans of the ''greatest generation'' who left us an untarnished
> legacy
Dear Friends: This thought-provoking comment just came in regarding
> some current polls and sets out some realistic comments, as follows:
>
> "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 Isikoff, who
> reported on the Qurans in the toilets at Gitmo.
>
> 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
> two-thirds 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 good 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. 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.
> . . instead of being shot by a vicious dictator.
>
> 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. 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.
>
> 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 of all time. A far cry from the proud
> Americans of the ''greatest generation'' who left us an untarnished
> legacy