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Forums - General Discussion - America is ungrateful...

insomniac17 said:

 This makes me sad to be an American. The article is kindof exaggerated, but still, I see a lot of truth. Especially about Bush. Yes, he has made many mistakes, but he has done good things as well. and the part about the army is a very good point. What do you all think about this? Please no flaming, I just want to see what people think about the statements in this.

 

    "The following is attributed to Jay Leno:

 

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 I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?''

A. Is it that we have electricity and clean fresh running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

B. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and comfortable heating in the winter?

C. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D. 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?

E. Perhaps it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic without having to present identification papers as we pass through each state?

F. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide comfortable temporary shelter?

G. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and they might even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

I. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J. 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.

K. 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.

L. All this in the backdrop of neighborhoods free of bombs, militias, raping or pillaging of the residents, neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M. 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 that 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 discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but we can 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. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another.

 

We should start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.  We are among the most blessed people on Earth and we should be thankful and appreciative."


In the Clinton-era where no electricity and fresh water? And there was no air-condition and heating as the first Bush was president? Employment was unknown under Reagan? The people in the USA starved before Bush? And so on. The articles lists hundred things that are fine, but nothing of that actually was reached by Bush. Should all people in the US gateful, that his government wasn't so bad, that all these things are gone lost? Admitted, he wasn't that bad as a president. But bad enough. This thread fails. EPIC.



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In the Cinton age, America was at a stoneage stadium. Bush made all those things possible. By the miracle of the allmighty god.



I'm just gonna ignore this thread...anytime America is mentioned, it just turns into an American bash-fest all day. Because yes, we're all the same and think alike, and our country defines us...so it's all good.



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BenKenobi88 said:
I'm just gonna ignore this thread...anytime America is mentioned, it just turns into an American bash-fest all day. Because yes, we're all the same and think alike, and our country defines us...so it's all good.

Do you think there might be a reason for that? If you think you are different from the Americans everyone dislikes, aren't you angry?



I live off of $150 - $190 a week. I can't afford to see a doctor. I can't afford to maintain my car which I need to get to work. I only have internet because I use my landlords wireless. My laptop is leftover from when I actually had a decent paying job. I buy my video games with money I make from bringing change to coinstar and returning bottles and cans. My 360 was paid for by change I saved.

Don't get me started. Many of those "jobs" are those minimum wage or close to it bullshit jobs like what I work. Its really irritates me that those who are well off are so above the poor that they don't even notice they exist.

My parents are upper middle class and they say similar clueless things.



[2:08:58 am] Moongoddess256: being asian makes you naturally good at ddr
[2:09:22 am] gnizmo: its a weird genetic thing
[2:09:30 am] gnizmo: goes back to hunting giant crabs in feudal Japan

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Moongoddess256 said:
I live off of $150 - $190 a week. I can't afford to see a doctor. I can't afford to maintain my car which I need to get to work. I only have internet because I use my landlords wireless. My laptop is leftover from when I actually had a decent paying job. I buy my video games with money I make from bringing change to coinstar and returning bottles and cans. My 360 was paid for by change I saved.

Don't get me started. Many of those "jobs" are those minimum wage or close to it bullshit jobs like what I work. Its really irritates me that those who are well off are so above the poor that they don't even notice they exist.

My parents are upper middle class and they say similar clueless things.

I feel for you too. My parents are upper middle class too, but they are very socially consience(?), so they are very empathic with the poor. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to be living on the edge of poverty, in a society that boasts itself of being the best in the world. It's so disconnected with reality.



The most stupid part is how 2/3 of the Americans doesn't like the current president (Bush) and how he's handling his 'war on terror', but yet, people re-elected him XD...

  



THE NETHERLANDS

Ok, that sounded wrong. I'm living on the edge of poverty myself, because I study.



I am actually happy though, money is tight but I make it work. Its when people come in and think that the poor have it so good just because they live in the USA. I have some college education, I'm very good about being able to budget properly. There are some that can't pull it off... I've known many people who couldn't afford toilet paper and stole it from convenience store bathrooms. Work here is very seasonal so there are many of us who have very little money to live off of during the winter. I'll be a lot better in the summer because I'll have more hours at my primary job and I'll have a second job.

Also, the lack of health care thing sucks. Doctors are wicked expensive :(



[2:08:58 am] Moongoddess256: being asian makes you naturally good at ddr
[2:09:22 am] gnizmo: its a weird genetic thing
[2:09:30 am] gnizmo: goes back to hunting giant crabs in feudal Japan

Yeah I'm grateful to live in America, but that letter screams of a pro-Bush supporter.

Complete bullshit. You know why more than half the country is fed up with the current President and his administration. Hmm... maybe for starters because we he entered the office he had 5 billion dollar surplus (one of the largest ANY administration has ever had access to) and it took him all of a year or two to turn that into a deficit.

Maybe it's because he stood up in front of millions of Americans and blatantly lied to us about invading another country. Claiming they had weapons which did they did not have. And further spent gazillions of our money. My money that I work hard for on a war or invasion that was birthed in lies.

Maybe it's because after he knowingly invaded this country under false pretense (weapons of mass distrutcion my ass). He once again got infront of millions of americans ADMITTED THAT HIS INTEL WAS WRONG ON THE SITUATION. And in so many words ADMITTED THAT HE SENT OUR ARMY TO INVADE THIS COUNTRY UNDER FALSE PRETENSE.

Maybe because everytime we turned around and were wondering about things on the home front (jobs, welfare- no not just for poor people but student loans, housing, etc. education for the youth, etc.) all he could talk about was how he needed more money, more troops, and how we needed to solidfy a country that we had no business "occupying" in the first place.

Maybe it's because as we saw our country slowly sliding into a recession. Our currency almost being non-existent on the world market. The cost of living going up, up, up, up, up and wages either lowering or staying the same. All of this continued.

Maybe it's because some of us (ME) working class folk, who need to go to work40 hours a week just to get by, don't really think that president or this adminstration has our (my) best interest in mind.

Don't give me that oh well we live in America everything is just groovey bit. I've been all over the world, and I'm sorry there are tons of other places if I had the resources, based on the life that I want to live I would move in a heartbeat.

I can do without hearing about Paris Hilton has managed to get her self arrested for the millionth time due to driving on the wrong side of the highway. Yet her new movie which will be out in a week cost 15million dollars to make.

I can do without seeing American Idol on primetime tv, the news in the morning and in syndication on the weekends.

I can do without another reality show of someone who may or may not was famous, is famous, or is trying to make a comeback showing us how an "average" day in their life is. Because it's oh so hard when you have money and camera crews following you around and you really need to make that important decision that will be revealed on the next episode.

I can deal without hearing why OJ got arrested again or why Dennys refused to serve him because they just felt like it. I could deal without hearing about the father that got so hopped up on drugs, that he decided to come home and beat his infant to death. I can deal without hearing about another kid being killed by a kid, no matter what the circumstances were (gangs, crazy, fed-up with bullying, etc.)

Now don't get me wrong. I'm American and I love my country. But there needs to come a time where we stop all this "Oh we're American!" so by default our thought process is 1. it could be worse we could live in a third world country or something or 2. it'll get better eventually.

Look towards our history. This presidential regime has been a joke since it's inception (Florida recount anyone). I'm sorry but as an American we're a better nation than that. Our fore-fathers are probably turning in their graves with disgust. I mean there was a time (and some cicles there still is), where if you said anything disparging about anything this administration has done or is doing they called you "un-amercan"?

Excuse me? I thought our country was founded on the principles of revolution and that that we weren't just going to accept what we should be told to accept?

So why would going against the herd or having your own thoughts or feelings about something be "Un-American"

Sorry for the long post, but after reading the TC, I got a bit worked up.



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