If you don't shut up, you don't love your country

I received this email from a colleague today. My colleague is a great person, so this by no means is meant to put them down. I guess I'm just blown away by how some people perceive our world. That being said, I too am limited by my perceptions so I'm anxious to hear what all of you have to say about this subject. Maybe we can all come to some sort of weird consensus. Please read the email and then read my response below it. Once you have read everything, go to the Blog and POST A COMMENT!

ORIGINAL EMAIL FROM FRIEND:

This is a very special email. I don't care what party you are, we should all read it and think about how good we have it. No matter how we feel about the war, at least it isn't on our shores; not yet, anyway

Jay Leno on President Bush (Surprising)

"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 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 comm!nder 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

Please keep this in circulation. There are so many people that need to read this and grasp the truth of it all.

MY RESPONSE:

Most of the claims in this are either false or simply misleading. The people are upset because America has the ability and potential to do MUCH more than this. We have the potential to eliminate poverty in our country and others throughout the world. We have the potential to stop wars over oil that we DON’T NEED. We have the potential to make everyone safe and Healthy. Sure, you can get an emergency vehicle delivered to your door right away. What was left out of this email is that if you will get charged thousands of dollars for that ride, be taken to an Emergency room where you will be charged another few thousand, and then depending on what happened to you another few thousand to make you better. If you don’t have health insurance (like many Americans), you are screwed and will probably have to file bankruptcy. If you DO have health insurance (no matter how much you pay for it), your insurance company will most likely deny payment for some part or all of your coverage by digging in to your history to find some reason why you don’t deserve the insurance you have been paying for.

Some of the major points I take issue with:

1. Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? - Are you freaking kidding me? Even if the president was concerned about our nation’s people (which I don’t think he is), you can’t make the argument that he “guided our nation in the dark days after 9/11”. If he did that, we would be fighting terrorism and would have caught Osama Bin Laden. Let me remind you that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 yet for some reason everyone has been coerced in to thinking it does.
2. The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? – Again, you have got to be joking…. Sure, he cut taxes. For the rich that don’t need it. I haven’t seen any bigger return on my taxes since Bush has been in power. Have you? Every president in our history has contributed to paying DOWN our debt with the exception of Regan & Bush. Bush has added to our national debt in the TRILLIONS of dollars with no sign of stopping. Gas prices have increased over 100 percent since he took office (Energy Information Administration, Household Vehicle Energy Use: Latest Data and Trends, and Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices). Health care premiums have increased by over 70 percent (Kaiser Family Foundation). College tuition has skyrocketed by as much as 57 percent (College Board Foundation 10/05) and Housing affordability has reached a 14-year low (U.S. Census Bureau; Wall Street Journal, 12/22/05) - EVEN IF the economy is better as this letter claims, it is certainly at the expense of you and I.
3. Don’t even get me started on the Media and the spin. Unfortunately the Media is as disjointed as our politics. Some organizations catering to the “left” and others to the “right”.

I could go on and on with most of these points but I’ll stop there.

So, all you idahorocks readers. What do you think? Go to the website and post a comment. Lets talk about it!