In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Tuesday, 75 percent of Americans said things are going badly in the United States. Two-thirds of those questioned said they're scared about the way things are going, and three in four said the current conditions in the country are stressing them out.
So I started wondering: What are we so upset about?
Could it be that when we walk into a grocery store we see more food than some African villages see in a year? Could it be that when we go on road trips with our families, we don't have to stop at every state line to show identification papers to continue traveling? Or could it be the thousands of restaurants offering all types of cuisines from around the world?
Maybe it's that when we sit on our leather couches at the end of the day to watch our big-screen TVs that we don't have to worry about bombs hitting our houses or militias pillaging our neighborhoods. Maybe it's that most teenagers in that neighborhood have their own computer, cell phone and car. Or maybe it's that every house in that neighborhood has air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter.
It's probably that president who took us into war and just has no plan to get us out. It's probably the man who cut our taxes and provided stimulus checks to millions of Americans this summer. It's probably the same man who guided our nation through the dark times after Sept. 11. It's that terrible guy who has been called every name in the book for keeping us safe from terrorist attacks in the U.S.
The truth is: It's the biggest group of spoiled, ungrateful brats in the world. We use our coveted political, religious and social freedoms to bash the blessings we have instead of being thankful for what we clearly don't deserve.
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Being critical of government and society is a freedom bestowed to American citizens in the Constitution. Yes, we're supposed to serve as a watchdog to the government, but there is a major difference between being critical and being unappreciative hypercritics complaining left and right.
The biggest complaint I hear nowadays is the war - the war that was "illegally" started for "not a good enough reason" and is "taking too long" and "killing too many troops." Apparently, some people need to brush up on their history.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, considered one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history, led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us, though Japan did. More than 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year.
Truman finished that war and started one in Korea; North Korea never attacked us. Another 55,000 lives were lost.
The beloved John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us. Johnson made the war worse, and 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 a year.
Bill Clinton went to war in Bosnia without U.N. or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. Sudan offered Osama bin Laden's head to Clinton three separate times. He did nothing.
As for this awful president most are complaining about now? Since the terrorists attacked us, President Bush has crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, liberated two countries, put nuclear inspectors in Iran, Libya and North Korea without firing a shot and captured a terrorist who slaughtered more than 300,000 of his own people.
As far as the death toll? Only 4,186 U.S. deaths have been reported in the five years we've been in Iraq.
As for how long the war is taking? It took less time to take over Iraq than it did to count the votes in Florida.
People need to pull away from the biased media and look at actual facts and blessings in their lives. Even the freedom to do that is taken for granted. It's time to shut your complaining mouth and start using it to smile more often.
