Everything:infravermelho

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and
came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe

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 aren'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 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 bulletproof 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.

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 are 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 ... 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 birdcage. 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, and 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.