Disenchanted

I received the following commentary in an email a few days ago. According to the email, it was written by Jay Leno, but the true author is a man by the name of Craig R. Smith. It was published on WorldNetDaily.com on Thanksgiving 2006. Upon reading it, I took exception to the simplistic view presented which seemed to me to say that because Americans are some of the most blessed people in the world (and assuredly we are), we should all just count those blessings and keep our mouths shut. This commentary would have one to believe that those of us who choose to look a little closer are simply malcontents who just need to get onboard the Good Ship Lollypop. My response to this is that, along with some 67% of other Americans, I have glimpsed below the glittering surface to discover that America does indeed have some ugly “warts” on her shining exterior. Though I would love to believe that all is well, that our work is done here and we can now rest easy, I believe that to be an irresponsible view. The rainbow is fading, the pot of gold is a little tarnished and there is work yet to do. My “rebuttal” is posted at the end of the following commentary, additionally; I have posted my sister’s defense of my rebuttal. My hope is that these words spark not only discussion, but independent thought as well. Happy reading!

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. I 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 hasseen in the last year?Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identificationpapers 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 theresidents. 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 whatwe 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 everyname 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 thatis 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.

My response………..

No doubt about it - we do live in the most prosperous and blessed country in the world. And I also have to agree that, as a people, we certainly do tend toward the most ungrateful in the world, certainly we are also among the most arrogant. Our abundant blessings have made us complacent and we take for granted the fact that we are indeed fortunate to live in the greatest country in the world. But I take issue with the implication that because of all those blessings we have no reason to be unhappy with the direction our country is headed. I don't know how accurate the Newsweek poll's percentage might be, but I count myself among the 67 or so percentage of people unhappy with the direction our country has taken. I don't believe that we can simply rest on our laurels, pat ourselves on the back for living here and rah-rah ourselves into further apathy. There is a lot about our great country that is broken and if we allow ourselves to remain numb to it instead of recognizing and identifying the problem and then pushing for a solution, we are indeed heading for a great fall.

I think that anyone with even half a brain would agree that the media in our country has evolved into a powerful lobby for special interest groups and seems to have completely forgotten that reporting the news should be just that - a reporting or recital of the facts, leaving the interpretation and opinion-forming about the news to the reader or the listener. Apathy has reached epidemic levels in the US, we've abdicated our right to form our own opinions and have too easily accepted as our own the ideals of those who scream the loudest or talk the longest. But I don't have to watch the news or read the newspaper to find my discontent. If only it were that easy, for then I could just turn off my big screen television or cancel my subscription to the liberal newspaper.

Could it be that I, like a great many of the other 67% of discontented souls cited in that poll, was just minding my own business, not looking for a bandwagon to jump on or a cause to champion, when suddenly one of the broken parts of our great system reached out and took my family in its grip and shook us with a vengeance? That's when I was forced to acknowledge that the sense of "something's just not right here" that had been niggling at the back of my mind for the past several years was more than just a suspicion that I could ignore until it went away. Something is wrong and it's not going to go away. No pie-in-the-sky, Polly-Anna, American as apple pie, God bless America pep rally is going to fix what's wrong with our judicial system or our societal norms that have eroded into something resembling a plot in a bad movie. Whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty" or "the truth will prevail"?

I always believed and taught my children that laws were enacted to help people and if you weren't guilty of doing something wrong, then you had nothing to worry about. I told them the police were there to help them and the courts would protect their rights. I told them that cheaters never win and winners never cheat. I firmly believed in Truth, Justice and the American Way. Sadly, I now fear what has become the American Way because it no longer has much resemblance to the American Way I knew as a child. I've found out that it is possible to play by the rules, tell the truth and not cheat and still end up the loser watching the bad guys walk away unscathed. And even that might be tolerable if there existed a remedy, an avenue of recourse to right those wrongs. Unfortunately what I've found is that the remedy very often still favors the "bad guy" because he's much better at playing the game. And this new game has rules that don't even hint at being fair, ethical or just. The end justifies the means seems to be the new American Way and that scares the devil out of me, folks.

Yes, I am one of the 67% of folks who are unhappy with the direction our country has taken. Frankly, I'm actually a little encouraged by that figure because hopefully that indicates that enough people are recognizing the elephant in the middle of the room and maybe, just maybe, we can start to fix what is broken about our country and not just sit back on our sorry, ungrateful behinds congratulating ourselves on how prosperous and fortunate we are while our system is devouring the very ones who have believed in and supported it for a lifetime.

I still believe in the ideals our country was founded upon and I still believe that I live in the greatest country in the world. But I refuse to turn a blind eye to the deterioration and degradation of those ideals. Our system is broken and if being a member of the 67% of discontented Americans is a step toward repairing what's broken, then count me in.

My sister’s defense of my position………



To those of you who responded to my sister’s email with such negative comments, allow me to explain.

This is NOT about President Bush and the war! This IS about personal pain.

The Newsweek poll that was sited states that 67% of Americans are unhappy with the direction that the country is headed and 69% is unhappy with the performance of the President. And yes, WE identify with the first. No one had to “tell us how to feel” about the things that have happened to our family over the last few years, we have lived it.

I am about as conservative as they come, I have been very active politically, probably more than most people who claim to be Conservative Republicans! I have voted in every single election since I was old enough to vote, I know the issues and I know what I believe.

I also KNOW that our legal system is corrupt, broken, and not at all what our founding fathers envisioned that it should be. I know this because I have watched it up close and personal. I know this because I have invested 2 years of my life and my money on research and investigation. I know this because our family has invested thousands of dollars trying to right a wrong, all the while being told by lawyers that we are right, but legally there is nothing that can be done. In at least some instances our legal system does protect the bad guys! And it is because of the way that laws are written in this country.

A family member of ours was indicted for a federal financial crime. He was not able to afford an attorney and had to use a public defender. This was a first offense. He did not have access to records to prove that he was not guilty at that time. No one lost a dime, not like Enron where so many people lost their life savings. He was threatened with 30 years in prison and a 1,000,000.00 fine. However our generous federal judiciary kindly offered to reduce that term of imprisonment to 15 months is he would plead guilty immediately! He was advised by his Public Defender to take the deal and be grateful… Think about that, if the crime justified 30 years to begin with why would they kick it down to 15 months????? They also informed him that they have a 95% conviction rate and that if he did not plead guilty quickly he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Oh, and our Federal Prison system has no parole. So there is no chance of getting out ever! He took the 15 months and plead guilty.

Two years later, after having obtained access to the records that could have proven him not guilty as well as proving who was actually responsible we are told that it does not matter. It is not about who is right or wrong. It is a done deal. While the people responsible for this “crime” walk free looking for their next fall guy! And there will be one… Maybe a member of your family next time!

Oh, and the club fed thing that we have all heard about. My family member did not go there! He has been held in various holding cells at different detention centers. Most of them not even up to the standards of Abu Graib! No outside time or exercise, no work or school. When he wanted a Bible we had to buy it from the publisher and have it sent to him. If he needs toiletries we buy them. Not like all those copies of the Koran that are purchased by our government to give to Terrorists in prison camps! Try driving 2 full days and trying to visit this family member, waiting for 1 ½ hours in a crowded room and then being told that they have decided to cancel visits for the day! After he has only been able to have 1 visit in the last 4 months!! Not because he is causing trouble, but because he was moved so far away from home that 1 visit was all that could be managed.

So yeah, we are dissatisfied with the direction that this country is taking! And the fact that I have electricity and indoor plumbing is small comfort.