Blessings
This is a repost from another blog… I thought it was worth sharing.
Be a blessing
This is what we talked about at church tonight and I thought it to be pretty profound…
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’s
of the citizenry just ain’t happy and want a change.
So being the
knuckle dragger I am, I started 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 and even 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 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 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 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, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by
“justifying” them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a
murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn’t kill his wife,
but if he did he would have done it this way…. Insane!
Stop
buying the negativism 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.
We are among the most blessed people on Earth and
should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and
appreciative.
“With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud
slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to
another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, “Are we sure
this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of
Allegiance?”
Jay Leno