Thankless Americans - Interesting Read
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“No matter what your political convictions are this is an eye opener….What a thankless people we are!!!” David Letterman, on President Bush. (Surprising)
David Letterman wrote this; it’s the David we don’t often see….
My brother sent this to me this morning and I found it really interesting! I thought some people might want to read this. Hope no one is offended.
“As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark.”
“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 of the citizenry just ain’t happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ‘What are we so unhappy about?”
A. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?
B. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and 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. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state.
F. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
G. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.
H. 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.
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. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging 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 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!
Turn 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?’
-David Letterman
What do you think? Is there a truth in this? Does it really make a difference in the way you see things these days? Don’t answer that, just think about it! Peace!:)
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That was a very eye opening read. Being a lifelong US citizen and having never lived out of the country I know it is hard for me to fathom life without the basic amenities we take for granted. Running water, emergency response system, great doctors, stores full of food, free public education and assistance, etc. It made me really think about if I or a loved one had a life threatening emergency and there was no to call for assistance. No help available.
I was reading the other day about how the current global economy has affected parts of Russia. Even people with money are going into the stores and there is nothing to buy. The shelves are empty. No bread, no milk, no meat. Creditors are refusing to back many grocery chains until they pay down their bills. As a result they cannot get any food delivered. I got worried about what I would do if that would occur here in the US. It made me think back to how the early US settlers had to have cultivation skills because everyone was self-dependent to provide food for themselves. And I, as most people, have no type of survival skills and am dependent on the economical infrastructure we have in the US. I am sure many Americans feel they have some privileged place in the World and perhaps take it for granted. But it all seems so fragile to me.
Anyway, that was a very thought provoking read and thanks for sharing that!
So David Letterman is ungrateful for the ungratefulness of the average American? Then call them names. That will change things. [read sarcasm]
Having lived in Mexico, Italy and Afghanistan in addition to the US I can say that, yes, the US has much better amenities than those other places. It was also my observation that families were much closer in those other places too so it’s a trade off.
Most of the the foreigners I’ve met love Americans but hate America. Reasonable people can all appreciate that the average person has practically zero control over what a government does in their name.
The thing that always gets me is that folks want to compare us to other countries instead of the country we could be. Anywhere outside the US and it’s clear we’re the world bully. We invade people to get their resources if we’re not able to outright assassinate or otherwise overthrow their government. We have a long history of doing that.
Government is government is government. It’s good at killing people and breaking things. It’s terrible at everything else. As a veteran I have firsthand experience in that. The American government isn’t special or different in that regard.
America just happens to have the biggest military and economy at the moment. We’ve become an empire and we’re following all the other empires into the history books. And since most of our power seems to rest on our coercing other nations, we’re in a precarious position.
Instead of telling people they’re ungrateful, why don’t we encourage people to spend their lives doing something they feel good about? If that’s something at home, great. If it’s something abroad, fine. Work on changing the world around you or the one within you. Both are valid paths.
There’s no sense in trying to shame people into being grateful if they look around and don’t like their current situation. If you must tell people what to do, encourage them to be something better. Live and let live.
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Though I know David Letterman didn’t write that (or at least I have a strong suspicion because of his previous tenor on the Pres and being a longtime fan of his show) I think that its phenomenal perspective on our nation and this whole concept of being “unhappy”
Even if our economy spiraled into the Great Depression times it pales in comparison to the world. So I am thankful for someone like you that will post these thought provoking conversations to get people to stretch out of their comfort zone and ask themselves some hard questions about “What Really Matters”
Thank God for This Nation
Thank God for our Troops
Thank God for the Internet and HONEST HOLLY
Blessings
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Thank you AD
…I haven’t watched David Letterman myself so I have no idea. I appreciate your comment and the others as well.I just thought this was thought-provoking anyway. 
I agree with LBurns:
“Instead of telling people they’re ungrateful, why don’t we encourage people to spend their lives doing something they feel good about? If that’s something at home, great. If it’s something abroad, fine. Work on changing the world around you or the one within you. Both are valid paths.
There’s no sense in trying to shame people into being grateful if they look around and don’t like their current situation. If you must tell people what to do, encourage them to be something better. Live and let live.”
I know that people can be spoiled. And its good to have a reminder of all the fortunate aspects of life.
But lets take an American who has just lost his wife, whose business is about to go bankrupt, and who has two kids on drugs.
Tell him, “whats wrong with you? Why aren’t you happy? You have a country full of hotels!”
Tell him that, and run and duck for cover!
I find Mr. Letterman’s remarks a little ironic considering the past few weeks. In fact I think many Americans are hoping just to be able to hold to many of the things he’s telling us we take for granted. Also ironic is the fact that Mr. Letterman is in a place easy to make such statements about the working people of this country (including the tens of thousands of small business owners.) I agree we should be happy for what we have and be thankful for it but words coming from someone who will most likely never have to even worry about what so many take for granted ring a little hollow. Then again I really do ask myself how would I be if I were In his shoes? I’m not sure. I only know this much, in the end we are all in this together and only by coming together can we make it through. Cliché but true.
Just my thoughts,
Jason
Sure Bush is an a-hole but then as you might see he’s been family forced into it. It all started with his grandfather who backed Hitler, Stalin and Mao. It’s not just the Bushes, it’s the Queen of England that runs the show, just as the USA is not really, it’s still a British colony and every one, well almost every one has been hoodwinked since. Washington has just been doing England’s dirty work for the past 300 years including, more recently a coupe in Australia, a mini nuclear attack in Bali to force Indonesia into the War on Terror and to stop Australians from demonstrating in the streets against the Iraq War. I’m an Aussie, and I’ve done my research, you should too. Australians have been hoodwinked too, they are still an English colony too, as are all the others who think that they aren’t. But let’s not forget the genocide of the American Indian, and all the other genocides of the so called “New World” that is now been updated to the “New World Order.” Now that the news is out we can do something about it. We can reverse the dwindling spiral of the peoples of Earth. Note, next month will not change the status quo, so forget about that. We have to do the changing by our actions. The fact is that for all the dirty work done by the USA the people have benefited so it’s about time they gave some thing back and that is to do a civil revolt, and make up for the damage done, globally. Do the greatest good for the greatest number, and that is all the people of Earth not just the Americans. For you will easily find, in America, all those cultures. It’s time for Americans to join the world and learn the capital cities of every other country as we all had to learn yours. I just hope that one day I’ll meet some American tourist who knows that Kangaroos don’t, and never did, hop down the main street of Sydney! Switch off the bloody TV (colloq. idiot box) and do some googling for a change! It’s all there, but you have to be willing to look, and not just for fund and money.
It’s amazing to me that after reading this post and the responses to it that I am having such a hard time deciding what exactly it is that I want to say.
I guess what I want to say is I think that people SHOULD be grateful for the things that they have. Yes there are circumstances in people’s lives that give them good reason to grieve and be upset and NOT feel grateful in those moments. But, generally speaking, if the statistics are true that are in the post, then I DO find it shameful that people who live in a country where they have so much can be so dissatisfied with what they have. I think that people SHOULD be ashamed at the fact that they can be so ungrateful when they have so much. I know I have my times where I am ungrateful for what I have…and when I realize it, I AM ashamed to admit just how self-centered I can be.
It’s difficult for me to say whether or not I agree with the “shaming people into being grateful” statement. On the one hand, what good does it do to make people feel bad about themselves. On the other hand, what does it take to get people to stop being so doggone self-centered and greedy? I agree with the statement about encouraging people to do things that they feel good about. But where do you draw the line between “what they feel good about” and “what makes them feel good?” Unfortunately our society seems to be more worried about doing what makes them feel good than doing what they feel good about. There is a difference there. As sentences, they are just semantics, but the meaning behind them is, I think, the core of this article.
Dustins last blog post..How I’m Dealing With Frustration
Speaking as an American, we deserve the label “spoiled brat”. It has become so bad that people here complain so much they forget just how good they have it — just like how your post demonstrates.
We’ve become so lazy, so complacent with everything that meets our needs that we actually look for things to complain about without even realizing it.
And our politicians? Oh man, if you were to compare a video of two American politicians arguing over the most trivial of matters to a video of two 6-year olds at a school playground, the only difference you’d see would be their age. Very sad. Our society has eroded to such a level that now it is commonplace to badger, shame, insult your opponent more than it is for you to talk about how you’re going to solve things.
I sincerely hope things will improve, but I fear things will have to get a lot worse before we get there.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post, Holly.
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I agree Dustin. Both points are valid. Although I do think this message is a little strong, sometimes we need a good kick in the pants to remind us of everything we have to be grateful for. I know I do! However, I do understand that we should also be encouraging people to accomplish things they feel good about. But I wonder if those who are completely ungrateful would have a hard time accomplishing truly great things that they love. I believe being grateful unlocks more things to be grateful for. If our attitudes are always looking at the negative and what we don’t have, then I wonder if encouragement will fall on deaf ears or even make one angry at the notion of someone else “the encourager” being so well off, while they are not so fortunate. I have seen this before.
So, my point is I think it has more to do with the person and not the message. One person can take a message like this, and even if they don’t agree, can look internally and make adjustments, if need be. They don’t even have to agree with it. I think a wise person is someone who can learn from everyone, even a child, or someone who they see as “inferior”.
So, I think these letters, whether really written by David Letterman, or not are sometimes just the kick in the pants we need, or sometimes may cause disdain, but if we are humble, we can take it for what it is worth,no matter what that may be. And, yes, I do think that we should continue to encourage all to follow what they love…that is something we should never stop doing. But every once in a while it is good to be reminded of those things we should be thankful for, maybe not so harshly, and then maybe these messages will serve their purpose a little better.
Good post…peace to everyone!
uhhhhhhhh hmmmmmmmm, let me see….I understand the statements, the ideas in what he said but really I don’t think being unhappy with the state of the country has anything to do with being ungrateful. I’m grateful everyday, but there is much I am unhappy with!
I can be grateful for the privileges I have, while at the same time hate the social ills that exist. We can talk about all the people around the world without food, yet not talk about the millions in the “great land” that have no food, shelter, or money. We are quick to go to the aid of others, yet do nothing (or very little) to make sure those who are going without here in this very country have what they need.
Yes we have tons of opportunity, but there is also things that make no sense. To me, I fail to understand how an illegal immigrant has a much higher chance of receiving a free pass to college than any of my kids, just because they are here illegally, that’s the criteria!
I’d love to come here from another country as well, and I couldn’t imaging living anywhere else, but I’m not blind to the fact that there ARE things wrong here, and this place is NOT perfect.
It was a good try by Letterman, but I just think it was off the mark a tad bit. Being unhappy with the current state of the country has nothing to do with being ungrateful.
JK Swopess last blog post..Transform Your Thinking: Creating Your Reality,What’s Really Real
Good point JK. I reread portions of the letter and it does seem that he couples those who are unhappy with those that are ungrateful. There is a stark difference between those that are ungrateful and disrepectful and those that are genuinely unhappy with the current state of affairs.
As you said, I am grateful for much but not entirely happy, and that does not make me ungrateful!
And, yes I agree that we have to take more serious care of our country’s ills. Thanks JK for your take on the letter…it caused me to get more out of it than I had before.
I love my country but yes, given all the negativity that is out there it is hard not to get depressed from time to time.
I remember the last election Bush vs Kerry the attacks against Bush were so extreme–I’m thinking of the Michael Moore types, etc. I also bristle at the crowd who essentially say we attacked ourselves on 911.
For many years, I worked in a radically left office in Seattle. Our job was to make decisions on disability claims. I was one of the few people who had some traditional leanings….I think being originally from small town Ohio and growing up on a farm had a lot to do with this. Anyway, most in the office hated the flag, hated America, hated Bush, hated traditional marriage, hated the traditional family, hated July 4th, etc. I was one of the few who didn’t feel that way and I was terribly discriminated against and blacklisted because of it.
I was at the Portland, Oregon airport last year and was wearing a very pro American T shirt and this guy came up to me and told me, in a complimentary but kinda hushed tone, how brave and bold I was for wearing the shirt—-can you believe that?
Anyway, it is tough being somewhat conservative in leftist areas but I’m sure there are quite a few lefty people who live in conservative areas who may feel the same way.
Anyway, politics, philosophy aside, I agree with all the letter above represents and communicates. Thanks for the post!
Link
Thank you Link (and everyone else for the comments and replies). Your comment brought back some memories for me. First thing I thought of was how things “used to be.” And, I know I am only 26 but when I was growing up, people were much more patriotic. I have really fond memories of going to school (Mountain Shadows grade school in Arizona) and every single morning we would stand (the entire school) in our class, put our hand on our heart and sing the National Anthem and “I am Proud to be an American, and at least I know I’m free…and I won’t forget the men who died and gave that right for me, and I gladly stand up,….etc.” Anyway, felt proud to do that every morning. Strangely, it is one of my only memories of school from when I was 7 or 8 years old! So, things have changed a lot.
I do not like to get into politics too much because I am not “into” politics, hardly watch the news, and like to avoid confrontations. I feel that people are so opinionated about it all - which is fine but I wish one person could share an opinion without the world attacking the person for it. So for me, I was in the Army and saw many different sides of the government and supporting agencies (I worked for Kellogg Brown and Root, Halliburton in Kuwait and Iraq too). I saw a lot of it upfront. Now there are some things going on within the government that I would like to understand better,and some are very alarming. I would actually like to make a post about it but fear that I will offend people and also it has nothing to do with internet marketing!!! So I will leave it at that! Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.
You are a soldier in the truest sense. Someday it would be cool to hear some of your general observations regarding your experience, maybe on a different blog or put out a product where it is just like a personal journal on your musings.
Here’s my politics Fear God Shun Evil stand for his truth
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Link I live in WA and feel your pain. Felt it for 30years people assume that everyone thinks like them and they air their politics opinions and viewpoints disguise themselves as being open minded but are the most close minded bigoted people on the planet, then use psychological projection and say that others who share their opinion are bigots.
WTH!
Take Courage
AD
* correction
“…anyone that shares a divergent opinion is a bigot”
My Father told me never to discuss politics or religion with others cause it would lead to conflict…hee, hee. He was from a different era that saw the horse and buggy phase out to the car, remembered electricity getting installed on the farm, etc
Anyway, he had a good point per wisdom but he was also partially off I feel. Taking part in forums, etc. is great I think. I take part in Topix forums all the time.
Another memory from elementary school in the mid 70s. Every morning the announcements would come over the intercom speakers thruout the entire school (every classroom), the menu for lunch, etc, etc. but we all would stand for the pledge of allegiance thruout the entire school….per the principal starting it over the intercom….every morning.
Thanks Holly!
Avocado–thanks for sharing my pain!!
I meant:
Advocado-thanks for sharing my pain!!
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