[antimedia] DISCONTENTED?

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This arrived in my inbox this morning and I thought you might find it interesting.  It certainly reflects how I feel and I suspect many of your readers feel.
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DISCONTENTED?

A Newsweek poll alleges that 67% of Americans are unhappy with the
direction the country is headed and 69% 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 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% 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% 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% 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% 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% 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% 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 were going to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to
write a book and do a TV special about how he didn't kill his wife but if he
did, how he would do it .  Insane!

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.

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.'' A far cry from the proud Americans of the
''greatest generation'' who left us an untarnished legacy.

*(origin unknown)*
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